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LIFE 


OF 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


BY 


WASHINGTON   IRVING. 


VOL  IV. 


NEW  YORK: 
G     P.  PUTNAM    &    CO.,    321    BROADWAY 

1857. 


Ektbked^  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  In  the  year  1857, 
By  G.  P  PUTNAM  &  CO., 
In  tho  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


joHw  F.  Teow, 

Prioter,  St«reotyper,  and  El««trotyper, 

377  <fc  379  Broodirjif, 

Cor.  Wl  iU  Street,  N«w  York. 


CONTENTS  01^  VOL.  IV. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PA6V 

Sufferings  of  the  Army  at  Morrlstown — Rigorous  Winter — Derangement 
of  tho  Currency — Confusion  in  the  Commissariat — Impressment  of 
Supplies — Patriotic  Conduct  of  the  People  of  New  Jersey — The  Bay 
of  New  York  Frozen  over — Lord  Stirling's  Expedition  against  Staten 
Island — Knyphausen  s  Incursion  into  the  Jerseys — Caldwell's  Church 
at  Elizabethtown  burnt — Character  of  its  Pastor — Foray  into  AVest- 
chester  County — Burning  of  Young's  House  in  the  Valley  of  the 
Neperan,  ....  .  ....       1 

CHAPTER   II. 

Arnold  in  Command  of  Philadelphia — Unpopular  Measures — Arnold's 
Style  of  Living — His  Schemes  and  Speculations — His  Collisions  with 
the  Executive  Council — His  Land  Project — Charges  sent  against  him 
to  Congress — His  Address  to  the  Public— Charges  referred  to  a  Court- 
Martial — His  Marriage — Verdict  of  the  Court-Martial — Arnold  Repri- 
manded— Obtains  Leave  of  Absence  from  the  Army,  .         .         .11 

CHAPTER  m. 

South  Carolina  Threatened — ^Its  Condition  and  Population — Stormy 
Voyage  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton — Loss  of  Horses — Character  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Tarleton — Fleet  Arrives  at  Tybee — Sir  Henry  Clinton 
Advances  upon  Charleston — Lincoln  Prepares  for  Defence — Commo- 
dore Whipple — Governor  Rutledge — Forebodings  of  Washington — 
Embarkation  of  British  Troops  at  New  York — Washington  sends  De 
Kalb  with  Reinforcements — His  hopeful  Letter  to  Steuben,  .         ,     25 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Evils  of  the  Continental  Currency — Military  Reforms  proposed  by  Wash- 
ington— Congress  Jealous  of  Military  Power — Committee  of  Three 


IV  CONTENTS. 


sent  to  Confer  with  Washington— Losses  by  Depreciation  of  the  Cur- 
rency to  be  made  good  to  the  Troops— Arrival  of  Lafayette— Scheme 
for  a  Combined  Attack  upon  New  York — Arnold  has  Debts  and  Dif- 
ficulties—His Proposals  to  the  French  Minister— Anxious  to  Return 
to  the  Army — Mutiny  of  the  Connecticut  Troops — Washington  writes 
to  Reed  for  Aid  from  Pennsylvania— Good  Eflfects  of  his  Letter,         ,     34 

CHAPTER  V. 

Siege  of  Charleston  continued— British  Ships  enter  the  Harbor — British 
Troops  march  from  Savannah — Tarleton  and  his  Dragoons — His  brush 
with  Colonel  Washington— Charleston  Reinforced  by  Woodford— 
Tarleton  s  Exploits  at  Monk's  Corner— At  Laneau's  Ferry— Sir  Henry 
Clinton  Reinforced- Charleston  Capitulates — Affair  of  Tarleton  aud 
Buford  on  the  Waxhaw— Sir  Henry  Clinton  Embarks  for  New  York,  .    47 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Knyphausen  Marauds  the  Jerseys— Sacking  of  Connecticut  Farms — Mur- 
der of  Mrs.  Caldwell — Arrival  and  Movements  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
— Springfield  Burnt- The  Jerseys  Evacuated, 61 

CHAPTER  VIL 

Washington  applies  to  the  State  Legislatures  for  Aid — Subscriptions  of  the 
Ladies  of  Philadelphia — Gates  appointed  to  Command  the  Southern 
Department — French  Fleet  arrives  at  Newport — Preparation  for  a 
Combined  Movement  against  New  York — ^Arnold  obtains  Command 
at  West  Point — Greene  Resigns  the  OflSce  of  Quartermaster-General,     73 

CHAPTER  Vin. 

North  Carolina — DiflSculties  of  its  Invasion — Character  of  the  People 
and  Country — Sumter,  his  Character  and  Story — Rocky  Mount — 
Hanging  Rock — Slow  Advance  of  De  Kalb — Gates  takes  Command 
— ^Desolate  March — ^Battle  of  Camden — ^Flight  of  Gates — Sumter  sur- 
prised by  Tarleton  at  the  Waxhaws — Washington's  Opinion  of  Militia 
— ^His  Letter  to  Gates,      .......  ...     86 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Treason  of  Arnold — ^His  Correspondence  with  the  Enemy — ^His  Negotii^ 
tions  with  Andrd — ^Parting  Scene  with  Washington — Midnight  Con- 
ference on  the  Banks  of  the  Hudson — Return  of  Andre  by  Land — 
Circumstances  of  his  Capture, .         » 105 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTEU   X 

PAOS 

Interview  of  Washington  with  the  French  Officers  at  Hartford— Plan  of 
Attack  disconcerted — Washington's  Return— Scenes  at  Arnold's  Head- 
Quarters  in  the  Highlands — Tidings  of  Andre's  Capture— Flight  of 
Arnold — Letters  from  the  Traitor — Washington's  Precautions — Situa- 
tion of  Mrs.  Arnold, 128 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Andre's  Conduct  as  a  Prisoner — ^His  Conversations  with  Colonel  Tallmadge 
—Story  of  Nathan  Hale — ^Andre's  Prison  at  Tappan — Correspondence 
on  his  Behalf— His  Trial — Execution — Reward  of  the  Captors — Re- 
ward of  Arnold — ^His  Proclamation — ^After  Fortunes  of  Mrs.  Amold|  139 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Greene  takes  Command  at  West  Point — Insidious  Attempts  to  shake 
the  Confidence  of  Washington  in  his  Officers — Plan  to  Entrap  Arnold 
— Character  of  Sergeant  Champe — Court  of  Inquiry  into  the  Conduct 
of  Gates — Greene  appointed  to  the  Southern  Department — Washing- 
ton's Instructions  to  him — Incursioas  from  Canada — Mohawk  Val- 
ley Ravaged — State  of  the  Army — Reforms  Adopted — Enlistment  for 
the  War— Half  Pay, 165 

CHiVPTER  XIII. 

The  Marquis  I^afayette  and  his  Light-Infantry — ^Proposes  a  hrilliant 
Stroke — Preparations  for  an  Attack  on  the  British  Posts  of  New 
York  Island — ^Visit  of  the  Marquis  of  Chastellux  to  the  American 
Camp— Washington  at  Head-Quarters — Attack  on  the  British  Posts 
given  up — Stark  forages  Westchester  County — Exploit  of  Tallmadge 
on  Long  Island, 174 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Rigorous  Measures  of  Comwallis  in  South  Carolina — ^Ferguson  sent  to 

scour  the  Mountain  Country  between  the  Catawba  and  the  Yadkin 

Comwallis  in  a  Hornet's  Nest — Movements  of  Ferguson— Mountain 
Men  and  Fierce  Men  from  Kentucky — Battle  of  King's  Mountain — 
Retrograde  March  of  Comwallis^      .......  183 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Marion— His  Character— Bye  Names — Haunts— Tarleton  in  quest  of  him 
— Sumter  on  the  West  Side  of  the  Santee— His  Affair  with  Tarleton 
at  Black  Stock  Hill — Gates  at  Hillsborough — His  domestic  Misfortunes 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAOX 

— Arrival  of  Greene — His  Considerate  Conduct — Gates  retires  to  his 
Estate — Condition  of  the  Army — Stratagem  of  Colonel  Washington 
at  Clermont — Morgan  detached  to  the  District  of  Ninety-Six — Greene 
posts  himself  on  the  Pedee, 196 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Hostile  Embarkations  to  the  South — Arnold  in  command — Necessitous 
State  of  the  Country — Washington  urges  a  Foreign  Loan — Mission  of 
Colonel  Laurens  to  Franco  to  seek  Aid  in  Men  and  Money — Grievan- 
ces of  the  Pennsylvania  Line — IMutiny — Negotiations  with  the  Muti- 
neers— Articles  of  Accommodation — Policy  doubted  by  Washington- 
Rigorous  Course  adopted  by  him  with  other  Malcontents — Successful 
— Ratification  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation  of  the  States,      .         .  208 

CHAPTER  XVIL 

Expedition  of  Arnold  into  Virginia — Buccaneering  Ravages — Checked  by 
Steuben — Arnold  at  Portsmouth — Congress  resolves  to  form  Heads  of 
Departments — Hamilton  suggested  by  Sullivan  for  Department  of  Fi- 
nance— High  Opinion  of  him  expressed  by  Washington — Misunder- 
standing between  Hamilton  and  the  Commander-in-Chief,  .         .  22i 

CHAPTER    XVin. 

Comwallis  prepares  to  invade  North  Carolina — Tarleton  sent  against 
Morgan — Battle  at  Cowpens — Morgan  pushes  for  the  Catawba  with 
Spoils  and  Prisoners — Comwallis  endeavors  to  intercept  him — The 
Rising  of  the  River — ComwalHs  at  Ramsour's  Mills,  234 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Greene  joins  Morgan  on  the  Catawba — Adopts  the  Fabian  Policy — ^Move- 
ment of  Comwallis  to  cross  the  Catawba — Affair  at  McGowan's  Ford 
— Militia  surprised  by  Tarleton  at  Tarrant's  Tavern — Comwallis 
checked  by  the  Rising  of  the  Yadkin — Contest  of  Skill  and  Speed  of 
the  two  Armies  in  a  March  to  the  Banks  of  the  Dan,  .         ,  246 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Comwallis  takes  Post  at  Hillsborough — His  Proclamation — Greene  re- 
crosses  the  Dan — Country  scoured  by  Lee  and  Pickens — Affair  with 
Colonel  Pyle — ^Manoeu^Tes  of  Comwallis  to  bring  Greene  to  Action — 
Battle  of  Guilford  Court-House — Greene  retreats  to  Troublesome 
Creek —Comwallis  marches  toward  Cape  Fear — Greene  pursues  him 


CONTENTS.  VU 

PAOS 

— la  brought  to  a  Stand  at  Deep  River — Determines  to  face  about 
and  carry  the  War  into  South  Carolina — Cornwallis  marches  for  Vir- 
ginia,      ......  •         •         .         .         .  257 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Arnold  at  Portsmouth  in  Virginia — Expeditions  sent  against  him — In- 
stiuctions  to  Lafayette — Washington  at  Newport — Consultations  with 
De  Rochambeau — Sailing  of  the  French  Fleet — Pursued  by  the  Eng- 
lish— Expedition  of  Lafayette  to  Virginia — Engagement  between  the 
English  and  French  Fleets — Failure  of  the  Expedition  against  Arnold 
— Letter  of  Washington  to  Colonel  Laurens — Measures  to  reinforce 
Greene — General  Phillips  in  Command  at  Portsmouth — Marauds  the 
Country — Checked  by  Lafayette — Mount  Vernon  menaced — Death  of 
Phillips,  .         .  / ....  279 

CHAPTER  XXIL 

inefficient  State  of  the  Army — Maraud  of  Delancey — ^Death  of  Colonel 
Greene — Arrival  of  the  Count  de  Barras — French  Naval  Force  ex- 
pected— Interview  of  Washington  and  De  Rochambeau  at  Weathers- 
field — Plan  of  combined  Operations — Financial  Arrangement  of  Rob- 
ert Morris — Scheme  to  attack  the  Works  on  New  York  Island  and 
capture  Delancey's  Corps — Encampments  of  American  and  French 
Armies  in  Westchester  County — Reconnoitring  Expeditions,       .         .  295 

CHAPTER   XXin. 

Movements  and  Counter-Movements  of  CornwalHs  and  Lafayette  in  Vir- 
ginia— Tarleton  and  his  Troopers  scour  the  Country — ^A  Dash  at  the 
State  Legislature — Attempt  to  surprise  the  Governor  at  Monticello — 
Retreat  of  Jefiferson  to  Carter's  Mountain — Steuben  Outwitted  by 
Simcoe — Lafayette  joined  by  Wayne  and  Steuben — Acts  on  the  Ag- 
gressive— Desperate  Mel^e  of  Marpherson  and  Simcoe — CornwalHs 
pursued  to  Jamestown  Island — Mad  Anthony  in  a  Morass — His  im- 
petuous Valor — Alertness  of  Lafayette — Washington's  Opinion  of  the 
Virginia  Campaign, 310 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

Greene's  retrograde  operation  in  South  Carolina — Appears  before  Cam- 
den— Affair  at  Hobkirk's  Hill — Rawdon  abandons  Camden — Rapid 
Successes  of  the  Americans — Greene's  Attack  on  the  Fortress  of 
Ninety-Six — Operations  against  Lord  Rawdon — Greene  on  the  High 
Hills  of  Santee — Sumter  scours  the  Lower  Country — Dash  of  Colonel 
Wade  Hampton  at  the  Gates  of  Charleston— Exploits  of  Lee  and 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

PAOI 

Hampton — Of  Captain  Armstrong  at  Quimby  Bridge — ^Action  in  the 
Neighborhood — ^End  of  the  Campaign, 320 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Washington  Disappointed  as  to  Reinforcements — French  Armament  des- 
tined for  the  Chesapeake — Attempts  on  New  York  postponed — March 
of  the  Armies  to  the  Chesapeake — Stratagems  to  deceive  the  Enemy 
— Arnold  Ravages  New  London — Washington  at  Philadelphia — March 
of  the  two  Armies  through  the  City— Comwallis  at  Yorktown— Pre- 
parations to  proceed  against  him — ^Visit  to  Mount  Vernon,  .         .  332 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

Comwallis  aroused  to  his  Danger — His  Retraat  to  the  Carolinas  cut  off 
— Strengthens  his  Works — Action  between  the  French  and  British 
Fleets — Washington  and  De  Rochambeau  visit  the  French  Fleet — 
Operations  before  Yorktown, 349 

CHAPTER  XXVn. 

Greene  on  the  High  Hills  of  Santee — The  Enemy  Harassed — Greene 
Marches  against  Stuart — Battle  near  Eutaw  Springs,  .         .  362 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
Siege  and  Surrender  of  Yorktown, 371 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Dissolution  of  the  combined  Armies — ^Washington  at  Eltham — Death  of 
John  Parke  Custis — Washingtou  at  Mount  Vernon — Correspondence 
about  the  next  Campaign — Lafayette  sails  for  France — ^Washington 
stimulates  Congress  to  Military  Preparations — ^Project  to  surprise  and 
carry  off  Prince  William  Henry  from  New  York — The  Case  of  Cap- 
tain AsgUl,      387 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Washington  continues  his  Precautions — Sir  Guy  Carleton  brings  pacific 
News — Discontents  of  the  Army — Extraordinary  Letter  from  Colonel 
Nicola — Indignant  Reply  of  Washington — Joint  Letter  of  Sir  Guy 
Carleton  and  Admiral  Digby — Junction  of  the  allied  Armies  on  the 
Hudson — Contemplated  Reduction  of  the  Army,        ....  399 


CONTENTS,  IX 

CHAPTER  XXXL 

PAOB 

Discontents  of  the  Army  at  Newburg — Memorial  of  the  Officers  to  Con- 
gress—-Anonymous  Papers  circulated  in  the  Camp — Meeting  of  Offi- 
cers called — ^Address  of  Washington — Resolutions  in  Consequence — 
Letters  of  Washington  to  the  President — His  Opinion  of  the  Anony- 
mous Addresses  and  their  Author, 406 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

News  of  Peace — ^Letter  of  Washington  in  behalf  of  the  Army — Cessa- 
tion of  Hostilities  proclaimed — Order  of  the  Cincinnati  formed — ^Let- 
ter of  Washington  to  the  State  Governors— Mutiny  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Line — Letter  of  Washington  on  the  Subject — ^Tour  to  the 
Northern  Posts, 420 

CHAPTER  XXXHL 

The  Aimy  to  be  discharged — ^Parting  Address  of  Washington — ^Evacu- 
ation of  New  York — Parting  Scene  of  Washington  with  his  Officers 
at  New  York — Washington  resigns  his  Commission  to  Congress — Re- 
tires to  Mount  Vernon, 435 

CHAPTER  XXXIV- 

Washington  at  Mount  Vernon — A  Soldier's  Repose — Plans  of  Domestic 
Life — Kind  oflfer  of  the  Council  of  Pennsylvania — Historical  Applica- 
tions— News  of  Jacob  Van  Braam — Opening  of  Spring — Agricultural 
Life  resumed — Recollections  of  the  Fairfaxes — Meeting  of  the  Order 
of  Cincinnati — Tour  of  Washington  and  Dr.  Craik  to  the  West — Ideas 
of  Internal  Improvement — ^Parting  with  Lafayette,    ....  446 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Scheme  of  Inland  Navigation — Shares  of  Stock  offered  to  Washington — 
Declined — Rural  Improvements — The  Tax  of  Letter- Writing — The 
Tax  of  Sitting  for  Likenesses — Ornamental  Gardening — Management 
of  the  Estate — Domestic  Life — Visit  of  Mr.  Watson — Reverential  Awe 
Inspired  by  Washington — Irksome  to  him — Instances  of  his  Festive 
Gayety— Of  his  Laughing — Passion  for  Hunting  revived — Death  of 
General  Greene — His  Character — Washington's  Regrets  and  Enco- 
miums— Letters  to  the  French  Noblemen, 4G1 

CHAPTER  XXXVL 

Washington  Doubts  the  Solidity  of  the  Confederation — Correspondence 
with  John  Jay  on  the  Subject — Plan  of  a  Convention  of  all  the  States 


X  CONTENTS, 

PAOl 

to  Revise  the  Federal  System — Washington  heads  the  Virginia  Dele- 
gation— Insurrection  in  Massachusetts — The  Convention — A  Federal 
Constitution  Organized — Ratified, 483 

CHAPTER  XXXVn. 

Washington  talked  of  for  the  Presidency — His  Letters  on  the  Subject 
Expressing  his  Reluctance — His  Election — His  Progress  to  the  Seat  of 
Government — His  Reception  at  New  York — The  Inauguration,  .        •  500 


PORTRAIT  OF  MRS.  WASHINGTON .       .  Frontiipiece. 

MAP— OPERATIONS  ON  THE  HUDSON page    108 

SIEGE  OF  YORKTOWN "       S56 

PROFILE  LIKENESS  OF  WASHINGTON,  1783 "406 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


CHAPTER    I. 

SUTFEEINGS  OF  THE  ARMY  AT  MOERISTOWN — EIGOBOTTS  WINTEE — DK- 
EANGEMENT  OF  THE  CUERENCT — CONFUSION  IN  THE  COMMISSARIAT — 
IMPRESSMENT  OF  SUPPLIES — PATRIOTIC  CONDUCT  OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF 
NEW  JERSEY — THE  BAY  OF  NEW  YORK  FROZEN  OVER — LORD  STIR- 
LING'S EXPEDITION  AGAINST  STATEN  ISLAND — KNYPHAUSEN's  INCUR- 
SION INTO  THE  JERSEYS — OALDWELL's  CHURCH  AT  ELIZABETHTOWl* 
BURNT — CHARACTER  OF  ITS  PASTOR — FORAY  INTO  WE3TCHESTES 
COUNTY — ^BURNING  OF  YOUNG's  HOUSE  IN  THE  TALLEY  OF  THB 
NEPERAN. 

The  dreary  encampment  at  VaUey  Forge  has  become 
proverbial  for  its  hardships ;  yet  they  were  scarcely  more 
severe  than  those  suffered  by  Washington's  army  during 
the  present  winter,  while  hutted  among  the  heights  of 
Morristown.  The  winter  set  m  early,  and  was  uncom- 
monly rigorous.  The  transportation  of  suppHes  was 
obstructed;  the  magazines  were  exhausted,  and  the 
commissaries  had  neither  money  nor  credit  to  enable 
them  to  replenish  them.  For  weeks  at  a  time  the  army 
was  on  half  allowance ;  sometimes  without  meat,  some- 
times without  bread,  sometimes  without  both.  There 
was  a  scarcity,  too,  of  clothing  and  blankets,  so  that 

VOL.  IV. — 1 


2  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

the  poor  soldiers  were  starving  with  cold  as  well  as 
hunger. 

Washington  wrote  to  President  Reed  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, entreating  aid  and  supplies  from  that  State  to 
keep  his  army  from  disbanding.  "  We  have  never," 
said  he,  "  experienced  a  like  extremity  at  any  period  of 
the  war  "* 

The  year  1780  opened  upon  a  famishing  camp. 
*  For  a  fortnight  past,*'  writes  Washington,  on  the  8th 
of  January,  "  the  troops,  both  officers  and  men,  have 
been  almost  penshing  with  want.  Yet,"  adds  he,  feel- 
ingly, "  they  have  borne  their  sufferings  with  a  patience 
that  ments  the  approbation,  and  ought  to  excite  the 
sympathies,  of  their  countrymen." 

The  severest  trials  of  the  Revolution,  in  fact,  were 
not  in  the  field,  where  there  were  shouts  to  excite  and 
laurels  to  be  won  ;  but  in  the  squalid  wretchedness  of 
ill-provided  camps,  where  there  was  nothing  to  cheer 
and  every  thmg  to  be  endm^ed.  To  suffer  was  the  lot 
of  the  revolutionary  soldier. 

A  rigorous  winter  had  much  to  do  with  the  actual 
distresses  of  the  army,  but  the  root  of  the  evil  lay  in 
the  derangement  of  the  currency.  Congress  had  com- 
menced the  war  without  adequate  funds,  and  without 
the  power  of  imposing  direct  taxes.  To  meet  pressing 
emergencies,  it  had  emitted  paper  money,  which,  for  a 
time,  passed  currently  at  par;  but  sank  in  value  as 
further  emissions  succeeded,  and  that,  already  in  circu- 
lation, remained  unredeemed.  The  several  States  added 
to  the  evil  by  emitting  paper  in  their  separate  capacities . 

*  Life  of  Reed,  u.  189. 


1780.]         DERANGEMENT   OF   THE    CURRENCY.  3 

thus  the  country  gradually  became  flooded  with  a  "  con- 
tinental currency,"  as  it  was  called ;  irredeemable,  and 
of  no  intrinsic  value.  The  consequence  was  a  general 
derangement  of  trade  and  finance.  The  continental 
currency  declined  to  such  a  degree,  that  forty  dollars 
in  paper  were  equivalent  to  only  one  in  specie. 

Congress  attempted  to  put  a  stop  to  this  deprecia- 
tion by  making  paper  money  a  legal  tender,  at  its  nomi- 
nal value,  in  the  discharge  of  debts,  however  contracted. 
This  opened  the  door  to  knavery,  and  added  a  new  fea- 
ture to  the  evil. 

The  commissanes  now  found  it  difficult  to  purchase 
supplies  for  the  immediate  wants  of  the  army,  and  im- 
possible to  provide  any  stores  m  advance.  They  were 
left  destitute  of  funds,  and  the  pubhc  credit  was  pros- 
trated by  the  accumulating  debts  suffered  to  remam 
uncancelled.  The  changes  wliich  had  taken  place  in 
the  commissary  department  added  to  this  confusion. 
The  commissary-general,  instead  of  receiving,  as  hereto- 
fore, a  commission  on  expenditures,  was  to  have  a  fixed 
salary  in  paper  currency ;  and  his  deputies  were  to  be 
compensated  in  hke  manner,  without  the  usual  allow- 
ance of  rations  and  forage.  No  competent  agents  could 
be  procured  on  such  terms ;  and  the  derangement  pro- 
duced throughout  the  department  compelled  Colonel 
Wadsworth,  the  able  and  upright  commissary- general, 
to  resign. 

In  the  present  emergency  Washington  was  reluc- 
tantly compelled,  by  the  distresses  of  the  army,  to  call 
upon  the  counties  of  the  State  for  supplies  of  grain  and 
cattle,  proportioned  to  their  respective  abilities.  These 
supplies  were  to  be  brought  into  the  camp  within  a  cer- 


4  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

tain  time :  the  grain  to  be  measured  and  the  cattle  es- 
timated by  any  two  of  the  magistrates  of  the  county  in 
conjunction  with  the  commissary,  and  certificates  to  be 
given  by  the  latter,  specifying  the  quantity  of  each  and 
the  terms  of  payment. 

Wherever  a  compliance  with  this  call  was  refused, 
the  articles  required  were  to  be  impressed :  it  was  a 
painful  alternative,  yet  nothing  else  could  save  the  army 
from  dissolution  or  starving.  Washington  charged  his 
officers  to  act  with  as  much  tenderness  as  possible, 
graduating  the  exaction  according  to  the  stock  of  each 
individual,  so  that  no  family  should  be  deprived  of  what 
was  necessary  to  its  subsistence.  "  Wliile  your  meas- 
ures are  adapted  to  the  emergency,"  writes  he  to  Colo- 
nel Matthias  Ogden,  "  and  you  consult  what  you  owe 
to  the  service,  I  am  persuaded  you  will  not  forget  that, 
as  we  are  compelled  by  necessity  to  take  the  property 
of  citizens  for  the  support  of  an  anny  on  which  their 
safety  depends,  we  should  be  careful  to  manifest  that 
we  have  a  reverence  for  their  rights,  and  wish  not  to  do 
any  tbing  wliicb  that  necessity,  and  even  their  own 
good,  do  not  absolutely  require." 

To  the  honor  of  the  magistrates  and  people  of  Jer- 
sey, Washington  testifies  that  his  requisitions  were 
punctually  complied  with,  and  in  many  counties  ex- 
ceeded. Too  much  praise,  indeed,  cannot  be  given  to 
the  people  of  this  State  for  the  patience  with  which 
most  of  them  bore  these  exactions,  and  the  patriotism 
with  which  many  of  them  administered  to  the  wants  of 
their  countrymen  in  arms.  Exhausted  as  the  State 
was  by  repeated  drainings,  yet,  at  one  time,  when  deep 
gnows  cut  off  all  distant  supphes,  Washington's  army 


1780.]     THE   BAY   OF   NEW   YORK   FROZEN    OVER.  5 

was  wholly  subsisted  by  it.  "  Provisions  came  in  with 
hearty  good  will  from  the  farmers  m  Mendham,  Chat- 
ham, Hanover,  and  other  niral  places,  together  with 
stockings,  shoes,  coats,  and  blankets ;  while  the  women 
met  together  to  knit  and  sew  for  the  soldiery."  * 

As  the  winter  advanced,  the  cold  increased  in  se- 
verity. It  was  the  most  intense  ever  remembered  in 
the  country  The  great  bay  of  New  York  was  frozen 
over.  No  supplies  could  come  to  the  city  by  water. 
Provisions  grew  scanty ;  and  there  was  such  lack  of 
firewood,  that  old  transports  were  broken  up,  and  un- 
inhabited wooden  houses  pulled  down  for  fuel.  The 
safety  of  the  city  was  endangered.  The  ships  of  war, 
immovably  icebound  in  its  harbor,  no  longer  gave  it 
protection.  The  insular  security  of  the  place  was  at  an 
end.  An  army  with  its  heaviest  artillery  and  baggage 
might  cross  the  Hudson  on  the  ice.  The  veteran 
Knyphausen  began  to  apprehend  an  invasion,  and  took 
measures  accordingly :  the  seamen  of  the  ships  and 
transports  were  landed  and  formed  into  companies,  and 
the  inhabitants  of  the  city  were  embodied,  officered,  and 
subjected  to  garrison  duty. 

Washington  was  aware  of  the  opportunity  which 
offered  itself  for  a  signal  coup  de  main,  but  was  not  in  a 
condition  to  profit  by  it.  His  troops,  hutted  among  the 
heights  of  Morristown,  were  half  fed,  half  clothed,  and 


*  From  manuscript  notes  by  the  Rev  Joseph  F.  Tuttle.  This  worthy 
clergyman  gives  many  anecdotes  illustrative  of  the  active  patriotism  of  the 
Jersey  women.  Anna  Kitchel,  wife  of  a  farmer  of  Whippany,  is  repeatedly  his 
theme  of  well-merited  eulogium.  Her  potato  bin,  meal  bag  and  granary, 
writes  he,  had  always  some  comfort  for  the  patriot  soldiers.  When  unable  to 
billet  them  in  her  house,  a  huge  kettle  filled  with  meat  and  vegetables  was 
hung  over  the  fire,  that  they  might  not  go  away  hungry. 


6  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

inferior  in  number  to  the  garrison  of  New  York.  He 
was  destitute  of  funds  necessary  to  fit  them  for  the  en- 
terprise, and  the  quartermaster  could  not  furnish  means 
of  transportation. 

Still,  in  the  frozen  condition  of  the  bay  and  rivers, 
some  minor  blow  might  be  attempted,  sufficient  to  rouse 
and  cheer  the  spirits  of  the  people.  With  this  view, 
having  ascertained  that  the  ice  formed  a  bridge  across 
the  strait  between  the  Jersey  shore  and  Staten  Island, 
he  projected  a  descent  upon  the  latter  by  Lord  Stir- 
ling with  twenty -five  hundred  men,  to  surprise  and 
capture  a  British  force  of  ten  or  twelve  hundred. 

His  lordship  crossed  on  the  night  of  the  14th  of 
January,  from  De  Hart's  Point  to  the  island.  His  ap- 
proach was  discovered ,  the  troops  took  refuge  in  the 
works,  which  were  too  strongly  situated  to  be  attacked ; 
a  channel  remaining  open  through  the  ice  across  the 
bay,  a  boat  was  dispatched  to  New  York  for  reinforce- 
ments. 

The  projected  surprise  having  thus  proved  a  com- 
plete failure,  and  his  own  situation  becoming  hazard- 
ous. Lord  Stirhng  recrossed  to  the  Jersey  shore  with  a 
number  of  pnsoners  whom  he  had  captured.  He  was 
pursued  by  a  party  of  cavalry,  which  he  repulsed,  and 
eff'ected  a  retreat  to  Elizabethtown.  Some  few  strag- 
glers fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  many  of  his 
men  were  severely  frostbitten. 

By  way  of  retort,  Knyphausen,  on  the  25th  of 
January,  sent  out  two  detachments  to  harass  the 
American  outposts.  One  crossed  to  Paulus  Hook,  and 
being  joined  by  part  of  the  garrison  of  that  post, 
pushed  on  to  Newark,  surprised  and  captured  a  com- 


1780.]  A   ROUSING   GOSPEL   PREACHER.  7 

pany  stationed  there,  set  fire  to  the  academy,  and  re- 
turned without  loss. 

The  other  detachment,  consisting  of  one  hundred 
dragoons  and  between  three  and  four  hundred  infantry, 
under  Lieutenant-colonel  Boskirk,  crossed  from  Staten 
Island  to  Trembly's  Point,  surprised  the  picket-guard 
at  Elizabethtown,  and  captured  two  majors,  two  cap- 
tains, and  forty -two  privates.  This,  likewise,  was 
effected  without  loss.  The  disgraceful  part  of  the 
expedition  was  the  burning  of  the  town  house,  a 
church,  and  a  private  residence,  and  the  plundering  of 
the  inhabitants. 

The  church  destroyed  was  a  Presbyterian  place  of 
worship,  and  its  pastor,  the  Rev  James  Caldwell,  had 
rendered  himself  an  especial  object  of  hostihty  to  both 
Briton  and  tory.  He  was  a  zealous  patriot;  had 
served  as  chaplain  to  those  portions  of  the  American 
army  that  successively  occupied  the  Jerseys,  and 
now  officiated  in  that  capacity  in  Colonel  Elias  Day- 
ton's regiment,  beside  occasionally  acting  as  commis- 
sary. His  church  had  at  times  served  as  hospital  to 
the  American  soldier ;  or  shelter  to  the  hastily  assem- 
bled militia.  Its  bell  was  the  tocsin  of  alarm ;  from 
its  pulpit  he  had  many  a  time  stirred  up  the  patriotism 
of  his  countrymen  by  his  ardent,  eloquent,  and  pa- 
thetic appeals,  laying  beside  him  his  pistols  before  he 
commenced.  His  popularity  in  the  army,  and  among 
the  Jersey  people,  was  unbounded.  He  was  termed 
by  his  friends  a  "  rousing  gospel  preacher,"  and  by  the 
enemy  a  "frantic  priest"  and  a  "rebel  fire-brand." 
On  the  present  occasion,  his  church  was  set  on  fire  by 
a  virulent  tory  of  the  neighborhood,  who,  as  he  saw  it 


8  LIFE    OJb'   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

wrapped  in  flames,  "regretted  that  the  black-coated 
rebel,  Caldwell,  was  not  in  his  pulpit."  We  shall  have 
occasion  to  speak  of  the  fortunes  of  this  pastor  and  his 
family  hereafter. 

Another  noted  maraud  during  Knyphousen's  mili- 
tary sway,  was  m  the  lower  part  of  Westchester 
County,  in  a  hilly  region  lying  between  the  British  and 
American  lines,  which  had  been  the  scene  of  part  of 
the  past  year's  campaign.  Being  often  foraged,  its 
inhabitants  had  become  belligerent  in  their  habits,  and 
quick  to  retaliate  on  all  marauders. 

In  this  region,  about  twenty  miles  from  the  British 
outposts,  and  not  far  from  White  Plains,  the  Americans 
had  established  a  post  of  three  hundred  men  at  a  stone 
building  commonly  known  as  Young's  house,  from  the 
name  of  its  owner.  It  corametnded  a  road  which 
passed  from  north  to  south  down  along  the  narrow  but 
fertDe  and  beautiful  valley  of  the  Sawmill  River,  now 
known  by  its  original  Indian  name  of  the  Neperan. 
On  this  road  the  garrison  of  Young's  house  kept  a 
vigilant  eye,  to  intercept  the  convoys  of  cattle  and  pro- 
visions which  had  been  collected  or  plundered  by  the 
enemy,  and  which  passed  down  this  valley  toward  New 
York.  This  post  had  long  been  an  annoyance  to  the 
enemy,  but  its  distance  from  the  British  lines  had  hith- 
erto saved  it  from  attack.  The  country  now  was 
covered  with  snow ;  troops  could  be  rapidly  trans- 
ported on  sleighs ;  and  it  was  determined  that  Young's 
house  should  be  surprised,  and  this  rebel  nest  broken 
up. 

On  the  evening  of  the  2d  of  February,  an  expedi- 
tion set  out  for  the  pui*pose  from  King's  Bridge,  led  by 


1780.]  ATTACK   ON    YOUNg's   HOUSE.  9 

Lieutenant-colonel  Norton,  and  consisting  of  four  flank 
companies  of  guards,  two  companies  of  Hessians,  and 
a  party  of  Yagers,  all  in  sleighs ;  beside  a  body  of 
Yager  cavalry  and  a  number  of  mounted  Westchester 
refugees,  with  two  three-pounders. 

The  snow,  being  newly  fallen,  was  deep ;  the 
sleighs  broke  their  way  through  it  with  difficulty.  The 
troops  at  length  abandoned  them  and  pushed  forward 
on  foot.  The  cannon  were  left  behind  for  the  same 
reason.  It  was  a  weary  tramp ;  the  snow  m  many 
places  was  more  than  two  feet  deep,  and  they  had  to 
take  by-ways  and  cross-roads  to  avoid  the  American 
patrols. 

The  sun  rose  while  they  were  yet  seven  miles  from 
Young's  house.  To  surprise  the  post  was  out  of 
the  question ;  still  they  kept  on.  Before  they  could 
reach  the  house  the  country  had  taken  the  alarm,  and 
the  Westchester  yeomanry  had  armed  themselves,  and 
were  hastening  to  aid  the  garrison. 

The  British  light  infantry  and  grenadiers  invested 
the  mansion ;  the  cavalry  posted  themselves  on  a  neigh- 
boring eminence,  to  prevent  retreat  or  reinforcement, 
and  the  house  was  assailed.  It  made  a  brave  resist- 
ance, and  was  aided  by  some  of  the  yeomanry  stationed 
in  an  adjacent  orchard.  The  garrison,  however,  was 
overpowered ,  numbers  were  killed,  and  ninety  taken 
prisoners.  The  house  was  sacked  and  set  in  flames  ; 
and  thus,  having  broken  up  this  stronghold  of  the 
country,  the  party  hastened  to  effect  a  safe  return  to 
the  lines  with  their  pnsoners,  some  of  whom  were  so 
badly  wounded  that  they  had  to  be  left  at  different 
farm-houses  on  the  road.    The   detachment  reached 


10  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1780 

King's  Bridge  by  nine  o'clock  the  same  evening,  and 
boasted  that,  in  this  enterprise,  they  had  sustained  no 
other  loss  than  two  killed  and  twenty-three  wounded. 

Of  the  prisoners  many  were  doubtless  farmers  and 
farmers'  sons,  who  had  turned  out  in  defence  of  their 
homes,  and  were  now  to  be  transferred  to  the  horrors 
of  the  jail  and  sugar-house  in  New  York.  We  give 
this  affair  as  a  specimen  of  the  j)etite  (/uerre  carried  on 
in  the  southern  part  of  Westchester  County ;  the  neu- 
tral GROUND,  as  it  was  called,  but  subjected  from  its 
vicinity  to  the  city,  to  be  foraged  by  the  royal  forces, 
and  plundered  and  insulted  by  refugees  and  tories. 
No  part  of  the  Union  was  more  harried  and  trampled 
down  by  friend  and  foe,  during  the  Revolution,  than 
this  debatable  region  and  the  Jerseys. 


CHAPTER    II. 

ABNOLD  IN  OOMMAND  OF   PHILADELPHIA — ^UNPOPTILAB    MEA8TTEBS — AR- 
NOLD'S   STYLE    OF    LIVING HIS    SCHEMES   AND    SPECULATIONS — HIS 

COLLISIONS  WITH  TETO  EXECUTIVE  COUNCIL — HIS  LAND  PROJECT — 
CHABOES  SENT  AGAINST  HIM  TO  CONGRESS — HIS  ADDRESS  TO  THE 
PUBLIC — CHARGES  BEFERBED  TO  A  COURT-MARTIAL — HIS  MARRIAGE 
— ^VERDICT  OF  THE  COUET-MABTIAL — ARNOLD  REPRIMANDED — OB- 
TAINS LEAVE  OF   ABSENCE  FROM  THE  ARMY. 

The  most  irksome  duty  that  Washington  had  to  per- 
form during  this  winter's  encampment  at  Mornstown, 
regarded  General  Arnold  and  his  military  government 
of  Philadelphia  in  1778.  To  explain  it  requires  a 
glance  back  to  that  period. 

At  the  time  of  entering  upon  this  command, 
Arnold's  accounts  with  government  were  yet  unsettled; 
the  committee  appointed  by  Congress,  at  his  own  re- 
quest, to  examine  them,  having  considered  some  of  his 
charges  dubious,  and  others  exorbitant.  Washington, 
however,  still  looked  upon  him  with  favor,  and,  but  a 
month  previously,  had  presented  him  with  a  pair  of 
epaulettes  and  a  sword  knot,  "  as  a  testimony  of  his 
sincere  regard  and  approbation." 

The  command  of  Philadelphia,  at  this  time,  was  a 
dehcate  and  difficult  one,  and  required  to  be  exercised 


12  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

with  extreme  circumspection.  The  boundaries  between 
the  powers  veste'd  in  the  mihtary  commander,  and 
those  inherent  in  the  State  government,  were  ill  defined. 
DisaflPection  to  the  American  cause  prevailed  both 
among  the  permanent  and  casual  residents,  and  re 
quired  to  be  held  in  check  with  firmness  but  toleration. 
By  a  resolve  of  Congress,  no  goods,  wares,  or  mer- 
chandise were  to  be  removed,  transferred,  or  sold,  until 
the  ownership  of  them  could  be  ascertamed  by  a  jomt 
committee  of  Congress  and  of  the  Council  of  Penn- 
sylvania ;  any  pubhc  stores  belonging  to  the  enemy 
were  to  be  seized  and  converted  to  the  use  of  the  army. 

Washmgton,  m  his  letter  of  mstructions,  left  it  to 
Arnold's  discretion  to  adopt  such  measures  as  should 
appear  to  him  most  effectual  and  least  offensive  in  exe- 
cuting this  resolve  of  Congress ,  m  which  he  was  to  be 
aided  by  an  assistant  quartermaster-general,  subject  to 
his  directions.  "  You  will  take  every  prudent  step  m 
your  power,"  wntes  Washington,  "  to  preserve  tranquil- 
lity and  order  in  the  city  and  give  security  to  individ- 
uals of  every  class  and  description,  restraining,  as  far 
as  possible,  till  the  restoration  of  civil  government, 
every  species  of  persecution,  insult  or  abuse,  either  fi'om 
the  soldiery  to  the  inhabitants,  or  among  each  other." 

One  of  Arnold's  first  measures  was  to  issue  a  pro- 
clamation enforcing  the  resolve  of  Congress.  In  so 
doing,  he  was  countenanced  by  leading  personages  of 
Philadelphia,  and  the  proclamation  was  drafted  by 
General  Joseph  Reed.  The  measure  excited  great  dis- 
satisfaction, and  circumstances  attending  the  enforce- 
ment of  it  gave  rise  to  scandal.  Pormer  instances  of  a 
mercenary  spirit  made  Arnold  liable  to  suspicions,  and 


1780.]      OSTENTATIOUS   PEODIGALITY   OF   ARNOLD.        13 

it  was  alleged  that,  while  by  the  proclamation  he  shut 
up  the  stores  and  shops  so  that  even  the  officers  of  the 
army  could  not  procure  necessary  articles  of  merchan- 
dise, he  was  privately  making  large  purchases  for  his 
own  enrichment. 

His  style  of  living  gave  point  to  this  scandal.  He 
occupied  one  of  the  finest  houses  in  the  city  ;  set  up  a 
splendid  establishment  ;  had  his  carriage  and  four 
horses  and  a  train  of  domestics  ;  gave  expensive  enter- 
tainments, and  indulged  in  a  luxury  and  parade,  which 
were  condemned  as  little  befitting  a  republican  general ; 
especially  one  whose  accounts  with  government  were 
yet  unsettled,  and  who  had  imputations  of  mercenary 
rapacity  still  hanging  over  him. 

Ostentatious  prodigality,  in  fact,  was  Arnold's  be- 
setting sin.  To  cope  with  his  overwhelming  expenses 
he  engaged  in  various  speculations,  more  befitting  the 
trafficking  habits  of  his  early  life  than  his  present  ele- 
vated position.  Nay,  he  availed  himself  of  that  posi- 
tion to  aid  his  speculations,  and  sometimes  made  tem- 
porary use  of  the  public  moneys  passing  through  his 
hands.  In  his  impatience  to  be  rich,  he  at  one  time 
thought  of  taking  command  of  a  privateer,  and  making 
lucrative  captures  at  sea. 

In  the  exercise  of  his  military  functions,  he  had  be- 
come involved  in  disputes  with  the  president  (Whar- 
ton), and  executive  comicU  of  Pennsylvania,  and  by  his 
conduct,  which  was  deemed  arbitrary  and  arrogant,  had 
drawn  upon  himself  the  hostility  of  that  body,  which 
became  stem  and  unsparing  censors  of  his  conduct. 

He  had  not  been  many  weeks  in  Philadelphia  before 
he  became  attached  to  one  of  its  reigning  belles.  Miss 


14  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

Margaret  Shippen,  daughter  of  Mr  Edward  Shippen, 
in  after  years  chief  justice  of  Pennsylvania.  Her  fam- 
ily were  not  considered  well  affected  to  the  American 
cause ;  the  young  lady  herself,  during  the  occupation 
of  the  city  by  the  enemy,  had  been  a  "  toast "  among 
the  British  officers,  and  selected  as  one  of  the  beauties 
of  the  Mischianza. 

Arnold  paid  his  addresses  in  an  open  and  honorable 
style,  first  obtainmg  by  letter  the  sanction  of  the  father. 
Party  feelmg  at  that  time  ran  high  in  Philadelphia  on 
local  subjects  connected  with  the  change  of  the  State 
government.  Arnold's  connection  with  the  Shippen 
family,  increased  his  disfavor  with  the  president  and 
executive  council,  who  were  whigs  to  a  man ;  and  it 
was  sneermgly  observed  that,  "he  had  courted  the 
loyalists  from  the  start." 

General  Joseph  Reed,  at  that  time  one  of  the  exec- 
utive committee,  observes  m  a  letter  to  General  Greene, 
*'  will  you  not  think  it  extraordinary  that  General  Arnold 
made  a  public  entertainment  the  night  before  last,  of 
which,  not  only  common  tory  ladies,  but  the  Avives  and 
daughters  of  persons  proscribed  by  the  State,  and  now 
vnth  the  enemy  at  New  York,  formed  a  very  considera- 
ble number  ?    The  fact  is  literally  true." 

Regarded  from  a  different  point  of  view,  this  conduct 
might  have  been  atti'ibuted  to  the  courtesy  of  a  gallant 
soldier;  who  scorned  to  carry  the  animosity  of  the 
field  into  the  drawing-room ;  or  to  proscribe  and  perse- 
cute the  wives  and  daughters  of  pohtical  exiles. 

In  the  beginning  of  December,  General  Reed  be- 
came president  of  the  executive  council  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  under  his  administration  the  ripening  hostihty 


1780.]        CHARGES    ADVANCED    AGAINST   ARNOLD.  15 

to  Arnold  was  brought  to  a  crisis.  Among  the  various 
schemes  of  the  latter  for  bettering  his  fortune,  and  se- 
curing the  means  of  living  when  the  war  should  come 
to  an  end,  was  one  for  forming  a  settlement  in  the 
western  part  of  the  State  of  New  York,  to  be  composed, 
principally,  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  who  had  served 
under  him.  His  scheme  was  approved  by  Mr.  John 
Jay,  the  pure-minded  patriot  of  New  York,  at  that 
time  President  of  Congress,  and  was  sanctioned  by  the 
New  York  delegation.  Provided  with  letters  from  them, 
Arnold  left  Philadelphia  about  the  1st  of  January 
(1779),  and  set  out  for  Albany  to  obtain  a  grant  of 
land  for  the  purpose,  from  the  New  York  Legislatiure. 

Within  a  day  or  two  after  his  departure,  his  public 
conduct  was  discussed  in  the  executive  council  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  it  was  resolved  unanimously,  that  the 
course  of  his  military  command  in  the  city  had  been  in 
many  respects  oppressive,  unworthy  of  his  rank  and 
station,  and  highly  discouraging  to  the  liberties  and  in- 
terests of  America,  and  disrespectful  to  the  supreme 
executive  authority  of  the  State. 

As  he  was  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  the  com- 
plaints and  grievances  of  Pennsylvania  were  set  forth 
by  the  executive  council  in  eight  charges  and  forwarded 
to  Congress,  accompanied  by  documents,  and  a  letter 
from  President  Reed. 

Information  of  these  facts,  with  a  printed  copy  of 
the  charges,  reached  Arnold  at  Washington's  camp  on 
the  Raritan,  which  he  had  visited  while  on  the  way  to 
Albany.  His  first  solicitude  was  about  the  effect  they 
might  have  upon  Miss  Shippen,  to  whom  he  was  now 
engaged.    In  a  letter  dated  Pebruary  8th,  he  entreated 


16  LIFE   OP  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

her  not  to  suffer  these  rude  attacks  on  him  to  give  her 
a  moment's  uneasiness — ^they  could  do  him  no  injury. 

On  the  following  day  he  issued  an  address  to  the 
pubhc,  recalling  his  faithful  services  of  nearly  four 
years,  and  inveighing  against  the  proceedings  of  the 
president  and  council ;  who,  not  content  with  injuring 
him  in  a  cruel  and  unprecedented  manner  with  Con- 
gress, had  ordered  copies  of  their  charges  to  be  printed 
and  dispersed  throughout  the  several  States,  for  the 
purpose  of  prejudicing  the  public  mind  against  him, 
while  the  matter  was  yet  in  suspense.  "  Their  conduct/* 
writes  he,  "  appears  the  more  cruel  and  malicious,  in 
making  the  charges  after  I  had  left  the  city;  as  my 
intention  of  leaving  it  was  known  for  five  weeks  before." 
This  complaint,  we  must  observe,  was  rebutted,  on  their 
part,  by  the  assertion  that,  at  the  time  of  his  departure, 
he  knew  of  the  accusation  that  was  impending. 

In  conclusion,  Arnold  informed  the  public  that  he 
had  requested  Congress  to  direct  a  court-martial  to  in- 
quire into  his  conduct,  and  trusted  his  countrymen 
would  suspend  their  judgment  in  the  matter,  until  he 
should  have  an  opportunity  of  being  heard. 

Public  opinion  was  divided.  His  brilliant  services 
spoke  eloquently  in  his  favor.  His  admirers  repined 
that  a  fame  won  by  such  daring  exploits  on  the  field 
should  be  stifled  down  by  cold  calumnies  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  many  thought,  dispassionately,  that  the  State 
authorities  had  acted  with  excessive  harshness  towards 
a  meritorious  officer,  in  widely  spreading  their  charges 
against  him,  and  thus,  in  an  unprecedented  way,  putting 
a  public  brand  upon  him. 

On  the  1 6th  of  February,  Arnold's  appeal  to  Con- 


1780.]  EEPORT  OP  THE   COMMITTEE.  17 

gress  was  referred  to  the  committee  which  had  under 
consideration  the  letter  of  President  Reed  and  its  accom- 
panying documents,  and  it  was  charged  to  make  a  re- 
port with  aU  convenient  despatch.  A  motion  was  made 
to  suspend  Arnold  from  all  command  during  the  in- 
quiry.    To  the  credit  of  Congress  it  was  negatived. 

Much  contrariety  of  feeling  prevailed  on  the  subject 
in  the  committee  of  Congress  and  the  executive  council 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  correspondence  between  those 
legislative  bodies  was  occasionally  tinctured  with  need- 
less acrimony. 

Arnold,  in  the  course  of  January,  had  obtained  per- 
mission from  Washington  to  resign  the  command  of 
Philadelphia,  but  deferred  to  act  upon  it,  until  the 
charges  against  him  should  be  examined,  lest,  as  he  said, 
his  enemies  should  misinterpret  his  motives,  and  ascribe 
his  resignation  to  fear  of  a  disgraceful  suspension  in 
consequence  of  those  charges. 

About  the  middle  of  March,  the  committee  brought 
in  a  report  exculpating  him  from  all  criminality  in  the 
matters  charged  against  him.  As  soon  as  the  report 
was  brought  m,  he  considered  his  name  vindicated,  and 
resigned. 

Whatever  exultation  he  may  have  felt  was  short- 
Uved.  Congress  did  not  call  up  and  act  upon  the  re- 
port, as,  in  justice  to  him,  they  should  have  done, 
whether  to  sanction  it  or  not ;  but  referred  the  subject 
anew  to  a  joint  committee  of  theu-  body  and  the  assem- 
bly and  council  of  Pennsylvania.  Arnold  was,  at  this 
time,  on  the  eve  of  marriage  with  Miss  Shippen,  and, 
thus  circumstanced,  it  must  have  been  peculiarly  gall- 

VOL.  IV. — 2 


18  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

ing  to  his  pride  to  be  kept  under  the  odium  of  imputed 
delinquencies. 

The  report  of  the  joint  committee  brought  up  ani- 
mated discussions  in  Congress.  Several  resolutions 
recommended  by  the  committee  were  merely  of  a  formal 
nature,  and  intended  to  soothe  the  wounded  sensibiUties 
of  Pennsylvania ;  these  were  passed  without  dissent ; 
but  it  was  contended  that  certain  charges  advanced  by 
the  executive  council  of  that  State  were  only  cognizable 
by  a  court-martial,  and,  after  a  warm  debate  it  was  re- 
solved (Apiil  3d),  by  a  large  majority,  that  the  com- 
mander-in-chief should  appoint  such  a  court  for  the 
consideration  of  them. 

Arnold  inveighed  bitterly  against  the  injustice  of 
subjecting  him  to  a  trial  before  a  military  tribunal  for 
alleged  offences  of  which  he  had  been  acquitted  by 
the  committee  of  Congress.  He  was  sacrificed,  he 
said,  to  avoid  a  breach  with  Pennsylvania.  In  a  letter 
to  Washington  he  charged  it  all  to  the  hostility  of 
President  Reed,  who,  he  affirmed,  had  by  his  address,, 
kept  the  affair  in  suspense  for  two  months,  and  at  last 
obtained  the  resolution  of  Congress  directing  the 
court-martial.  He  urged  Washington  to  appoint  a 
speedy  day  for  the  trial,  that  he  might  not  hnger  under 
the  odium  of  an  unjust  pubhc  accusation.  "  I  have  no 
doubt  of  obtaining  justice  from  a  court-martial,"  writes 
he,  "  as  every  officer  in  the  army  must  feel  himself  in- 
jured by  the  cruel  and  unprecedented  treatment  I  have 
met  with.  *  *  *  *  When  your  Excellency  con- 
siders my  sufferings,  and  the  cruel  situation  I  am  m, 
your  own  humanity  and  feehng  as  a  soldier  will  render 


1780.1  MARRIAGE   OF   ARNOLD.  19 

every  thing  I  can  say  further  on  the  subject  un- 
necessary." 

It  was  doubtless  soothing  to  his  irritated  pride, 
that  the  woman  on  whom  he  had  placed  his  affections 
remained  true  to  him ;  for  his  marriage  with  Miss 
Shippen  took  place  just  five  days  after  the  mortifymg 
vote  of  Congress. 

Washington  sympathized  with  Arnold's  impatience, 
and  appointed  the  1st  of  May  for  the  trial,  but  it  was 
repeatedly  postponed  ;  first,  at  the  request  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania council,  to  allow  time  for  the  arrival  of  wit- 
nesses from  the  South ;  afterwards,  in  consequence  of 
threatening  movements  of  the  enemy,  which  obliged 
every  officer  to  be  at  his  post.  Arnold,  in  the  mean 
time,  continued  to  reside  at  Philadelphia,  holding  his 
commission  in  the  army  but  filling  no  public  office ; 
getting  deeper  and  deeper  in  debt,  and  becoming  more 
and  more  unpopular. 

Having  once  been  attacked  in  the  street  in  the 
course  of  some  popular  tumult,  he  affected  to  consider 
his  life  in  danger,  and  applied  to  Congress  for  a  guard 
of  Continental  soldiers,  "  as  no  protection  was  to  be 
expected  from  the  authority  of  the  State  for  an  honest 
man." 

He  was  told  in  reply,  that  his  application  ought  to 
have  been  "made  to  the  executive  authority  of  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  "  in  whose  disposition  to  protect  every  honest 
citizen.  Congress  had  full  confidence,  and  higlily  disap- 
proved the  insinuation  of  every  individual  to  the  con- 
trary'' 

For  months,  Arnold  remained  in  this  anxious  and 
irritated  state.     His  situation,  he  said,  was  cruel.     His 


20  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

character  would  continue  to  suffer  until  he  should  be 
acquitted  by  a  court-martial,  and  he  would  be  effectu- 
ally prevented  from  joinmg  the  army,  which  he  wished 
to  do  as  soon  as  his  wounds  would  permit,  that  he 
miglit  render  the  country  every  service  in  his  power  in 
this  critical  time.  "  For  though  I  have  been  ungrate- 
fully treated,"  adds  he,  "  I  do  not  consider  it  as  from 
my  countrymen  in  general,  but  from  a  set  of  men,  who, 
void  of  principle,  are  governed  entirely  by  private  in- 
terest." 

At  length,  when  the  campaign  was  over  and  the 
army  had  gone  into  winter-quarters,  the  long  delayed 
court-martial  was  assembled  at  Morristown.  Of  the 
eight  charges  originally  advanced  against  Arnold  by 
the  Pennsylvania  council,  four  only  came  under  cogni- 
zance of  the  court.  Of  two  of  these  he  was  entirely 
acquitted.     The  remaining  two  were. 

First.  That  while  in  the  camp  at  Valley  Forge, 
he,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  commander-in-chief, 
or  the  sanction  of  the  State  government,  had  granted 
a  written  permission  for  a  vessel  belonging  to  disaf- 
fected persons,  to  proceed  from  the  port  of  Philadel- 
phia, then  m  possession  of  the  enemy,  to  any  port  of 
the  United  States. 

Second.  That,  availing  himself  of  his  official  author- 
ity, he  had  appropriated  the  public  waggons  of  Penn- 
sylvania, when  called  forth  on  a  special  emergency,  to 
the  transportation  of  private  property,  and  that  of  per- 
sons who  voluntarily  remained  with  the  enemy,  and 
were  deemed  disaffected  to  the  interests  and  indepen- 
dence of  America. 

In  regard  to  the  first  of  these  charges,  Arnold 


1780.]  ARNOLD    SENTENCED.  21 

alleged  tKat  the  person  who  applied  for  the  protection 
of  the  vessel,  had  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  required  by  the  laws ,  that  he 
was  not  residing  in  Philadelphia  at  the  time,  but  had 
apphed  on  behalf  of  himself  and  a  company,  and  that 
the  mtentions  of  that  person  and  his  associates  with 
regard  to  the  vessel  and  cargo  appeared  to  be  upright. 

As  to  his  having  granted  the  permission  without 
the  knowledge  of  the  commander-in-chief,  though  pres- 
ent in  the  camp,  Arnold  alleged  that  it  was  customary 
in  the  army  for  general  officers  to  grant  passes  and 
protections  to  inhabitants  of  the  United  States,  friend- 
ly to  the  same,  and  that  the  protection  was  given  in  the 
present  instance,  to  prevent  the  soldiery  from  plunder- 
ing the  vessel  and  cargo,  coming  from  a  place  in  pos- 
session of  the  enemy,  until  the  proper  authority  could 
take  cognizance  of  the  matter 

In  regard  to  the  second  charge,  while  it  was  proved 
that  under  his  authority  public  waggons  had  been  so 
used,  it  was  allowed  in  extenuation)  that  they  had 
been  employed  at  private  expense  and  without  any 
design  to  defraud  the  public  or  impede  the  military 
service. 

In  regard  to  both  charges,  nothing  fraudulent  on 
the  part  of  Arnold  was  proved,  but  the  transactions 
involved  in  the  first  were  pronounced  irregular,  and 
contrary  to  one  of  the  articles  of  war ,  and  in  the 
second,  imprudent  and  reprehensible,  considering  the 
high  station  occupied  by  the  general  at  the  time,  and 
the  court  sentenced  him  to  be  reprimanded  by  the 
commander-in-chief.  The  sentence  was  confirmed  by 
Congress  on  the  12th  of  Pebruaiy  (1780). 


22  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

We  have  foreborne  to  go  into  all  the  particulars  of 
this  trial,  but  we  have  considered  them  attentively, 
discharging  from  our  minds,  as  much  as  possible,  all 
impressions  produced  by  Arnold's  subsequent  history, 
and  we  are  surprised  to  find,  after  the  hostihty  mani- 
fested against  him  by  the  council  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
their  extraordinary  measure  to  possess  the  public  mind 
against  him,  how  venial  are  the  trespasses  of  which  he 
stood  convicted. 

He  may  have  given  personal  offence  by  his  assum- 
ing vanity ;  by  the  arrogant  exercise  of  his  military 
authority ;  he  may  have  displeased  by  his  ostentation, 
and  awakened  distrust  by  his  speculating  propensities  ; 
but  as  yet  his  patriotism  was  unquestioned.  No  tur- 
pitude had  been  proved  against  him;  his  brilliant 
exploits  shed  a  splendor  round  his  name,  and  he 
appeared  before  the  public,  a  soldier  crippled  in  their 
service.  All  these  should  have  pleaded  in  his  favor, 
should  have  produced  indulgence  of  his  errors,  and 
mitigated  that  animosity  which  he  always  contended 
had  been  the  cause  of  his  ruin. 

The  reprimand  adjudged  by  the  court-martial  was 
administered  by  Washington  with  consummate  deli- 
cacy The  following  were  his  words,  as  repeated  by 
M.  de  Marbois,  the  French  secretary  of  legation. 

'*  Our  profession  is  the  chastest  of  all .  even  the 
shadow  of  a  fault  tarnishes  the  lustre  of  our  finest 
achievements.  The  least  inadvertence  may  rob  us  of 
the  public  favor,  so  hard  to  be  acquired.  I  reprehend 
you  for  having  forgotten,  that,  in  proportion  as  you 
had  rendered  yourself  formidable  to  our  enemies,  you 


1780.]  ARNOLD   EEPRIMANDED.  23 

should  have  been   guarded  and  temperate  in  your 
deportment  towards  your  fellow-citizens. 

"Exhibit  anew  those  noble  qualities  which  have 
placed  you  on  the  list  of  our  most  valued  commanders. 
I  will  myself  furnish  you,  as  far  as  it  may  be  m  my 
power,  with  opportunities  of  regaining  the  esteem  of 
your  country." 

A  reprimand  so  mild  and  considerate,  accompanied 
by  such  high  eulogiums  and  generous  promises,  might 
have  had  a  favorable  effect  upon  Arnold,  had  he  been 
in  a  different  frame  of  mind ;  but  he  had  persuaded 
himself  that  the  court  would  incline  in  his  favor  and 
acquit  him  altogether,  and  he  resented  deeply  a  sen- 
tence, which  he  protested  against  as  unmerited.  His 
resentment  was  aggravated  by  delays  m  the  settlement 
of  his  accounts,  as  he  depended  upon  the  sums  he 
claimed  as  due  to  him,  for  the  payment  of  debts  by 
which  he  was  harassed.  In  following  the  matter  up 
he  became  a  weary,  and  probably  irritable,  applicant 
at  the  halls  of  Congress,  and,  we  are  told,  gave  great 
offence  to  members  by  his  importunity,  while  he  wore 
out  the  patience  of  his  friends ;  but  pubhc  bodies  are 
prone  to  be  offended  by  the  importunity  of  baffled 
claimants,  and  the  patience  of  friends  is  seldom  proof 
against  the  reiterated  story  of  a  man's  prolonged  diffi- 
culties. 

In  the  month  of  March,  we  find  him  intent  on  a 
new  and  adventurous  project.  He  had  proposed  to  the 
Board  of  Admiralty  an  expedition,  requiring  several 
ships  of  war  and  three  or  four  hundred  land  troops, 
offering  to  take  command  of  it.  should  it  be  carried 
into  effect,  as  his  wounds  still  disabled  him  from  duty 


24  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

on  land.  Washington,  who  knew  his  abilities  in  either 
service,  was  disposed  to  favor  his  proposition,  but  the 
scheme  fell  through  from  the  impossibility  of  sparing 
the  requisite  number  of  men  from  the  army.  What 
Arnold's  ultimate  designs  might  have  been  in  seekmg 
such  a  command,  are  rendered  problematical  by  his 
subsequent  conduct.  On  the  failure  of  the  project,  he 
requested  and  obtained  from  Washmgton  leave  of  ab- 
sence from  the  army  for  the  summer,  there  being,  he 
said,  little  prospect  of  an  active  campaign,  and  his 
wounds  unfitting  him  for  the  field. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SOTTTH  OAEOLINA  THKEATENED — ^IT8  CONDITION  AND  POPULATION — 
8T0BMT  VOYAGE  OF  BIR  HENET  CLINTON — ^L083  OP  HOKSES — OHAB- 
AOTEK  OF  LIEUTENANT-COLONEL  TAELETON — FLEET  AEEIVES  AT  TT- 
BEE — BIB  HENRY  CLINTON  ADVANCES  UPON  CHARLESTON — LINCOLN 
PBEPAEE8  FOB  DEFENCE — COMMODORE  WHIPPLE — GOVERNOR  EUT- 
LEDGE — FOREBODINGS  OF  WASHINGTON — EMBARKATION  OF  BRITISH 
TROOPS  AT  NEW  YORK — ^WASHINGTON  SENDS  DE  KALB  WITH  REIN- 
FORCEMENTS— HIS  HOPEFUL  LETTER  TO  STEUBEN. 

The  return  of  spring  brought  little  alleviation  to  the 
sufferings  of  the  army  at  Morristown.  All  means  of 
supplying  its  wants  or  recruiting  its  ranks  were  para- 
lyzed by  the  continued  depreciation  of  the  currency. 
While  Washington  saw  his  forces  gradually  diminish- 
ing, his  sohcitude  was  intensely  excited  for  the  safety 
of  the  Southern  States.  The  reader  will  recall  the 
departure  from  New  York,  in  the  latter  part  of  Decem- 
ber, of  the  fleet  of  Admiral  Arbuthnot  with  the  army 
of  Sir  Henry  Clmton,  destined  for  the  subjugation  of 
South  Carolina.  "  The  richness  of  the  country,"  says 
Colonel  Tarleton,  in  his  history  of  the  campaign,  "  its 
vicinity  to  Georgia,  and  its  distance  from  General 
Washington,  pointed  out  the  adyantage  and  faciUty 
of  its  conquest.     While  it  would  be  an  unspeakable 


26  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780 

loss  to  the  Americans,  the  possession  of  it  would 
tend  to  secure  to  the  crown  the  southern  part  of  the 
continent  which  stretches  beyond  it."  It  was  pre- 
sumed that  the  subjugation  of  it  would  be  an  easy 
task.  The  population  was  scanty  for  the  extent  of 
the  country,  and  was  made  up  of  emigrants,  or  the 
descendants  of  emigrants,  from  various  lands  and  of 
various  nations  :  Huguenots,  who  had  emigrated  from 
Prance  after  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantz  ; 
Germans,  from  the  Palatinate ;  Irish  Protestants,  who 
had  received  grants  of  land  from  the  crown ;  Scotch 
Highlanders,  transported  hither  after  the  disastrous 
battle  of  Culloden ,  Dutch  colonists,  who  had  left  New 
York  after  its  submission  to  England,  and  been  settled 
here  on  bounty  lands. 

Some  of  these  foreign  elements  might  be  hostile  to 
British  domination,  but  others  would  be  favorable. 
There  was  a  large  class  too,  that  had  been  bom  or  had 
passed  much  of  theur  lives  in  England,  who  retained  for 
it  a  filial  affection,  spoke  of  it  as  home,  and  sent  their 
children  to  be  educated  there. 

The  number  of  slaves  within  the  province  and  of 
savages  on  its  western  frontier,  together  with  its  wide 
extent  of  unprotected  sea  coast,  were  encouragements 
to  an  invasion  by  sea  and  land.  Little  combination 
of  mihtia  and  yeomanry  need  be  apprehended  from  a 
population  sparsely  scattered,  and  where  the  settlements 
were  widely  separated  by  swamps  and  forests.  AVash- 
ington  was  in  no  condition  to  render  prompt  and  effec- 
tual relief,  his  army  being  at  a  vast  distance,  and  con- 
sidered as  "in  a  great  measure  broken  up."  The 
British,  on  the  contrary,  had  the  advantage  of  their 


1780.]         GENERAL   LINCOLN    AT   CHARLESTON.  27 

naval  force,  "  there  being  nothing  then  in  the  American 
seas  which  could  even  venture  to  look  at  it."  * 

Such  were  some  of  the  considerations  which  had 
prompted  the  enemy  to  this  expedition;  and  which 
gave  Washington  great  anxiety  concerning  it. 

General  Lincoln  was  in  command  at  Charleston, 
but  uncertain  as  yet  of  the  designs  of  the  enemy,  and 
at  a  loss  what  course  to  pursue.  Diffident  of  himself, 
and  accustomed  to  defer  to  the  wisdom  of  Washing- 
ton, he  turns  to  him  in  his  present  perplexity.  "  It 
is  among  my  misfortunes,"  writes  he,  modestly  (Jan. 
23d),  "  that  I  am  not  near  enough  to  your  Excellency 
to  have  the  advantage  of  your  advice  and  direction. 
I  feel  my  own  insufficiency  and  want  of  experience.  I 
can  promise  you  nothing  but  a  disposition  to  serve  my 
country.  If  this  town  should  be  attacked,  as  now 
threatened,  I  know  my  duty  will  call  me  to  defend  it, 
as  long  as  opposition  can  be  of  any  avail.  I  hope  my 
inchnation  will  coincide  with  my  duty." 

The  voyage  of  Sir  Henry  Chnton  proved  long  and 
tempestuous.  The  ships  were  dispersed.  Several  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Americans,  One  ordnance  ves- 
sel foundered.  Most  of  the  artillery  horses,  and  aU 
those  of  the  cavalry  perished.  The  scattered  ships 
rejoined  each  other  about  the  end  of  January,  at  Tybee 
Bay  on  Savannah  River ;  where  those  that  had  sustained 
damage  were  repaired  as  speedily  as  possible.  The 
loss  of  the  cavalry  horses  was  especially  felt  by  Sir 
Henry.  There  was  a  corps  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dragoons,  on  which  he  depended  greatly  in  the  kind  of 

*  Am  Register  1780,  p.  217. 


28  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

guerilla  warfare  lie  was  likely  to  pursue,  in  a  country 
of  forests  and  morasses.  Lieutenant-colonel  Banastre 
Tarleton,  who  commanded  them,  was  one  of  those  dogs 
of  war,  which  Sir  Henry  was  prepared  to  let  slip  on 
emergencies,  to  scour  and  maraud  the  country.  This 
"  bold  dragoon,"  so  noted  in  Southern  warfare,  was 
about  twenty-six  years  of  age,  of  a  swarthy  complexion, 
with  small,  black,  piercing  eyes.  He  is  described  as 
being  rather  below  the  middle  size,  square-built  and 
strong,  ''with  large  muscular  legs."  It  will  be  found 
that  he  was  a  first-rate  partisan  officer,  prompt,  ardent, 
active,  but  somewhat  unscrupulous. 

Landing  from  the  fleet,  perfectly  dismounted,  he 
repaired  with  his  dragoons,  in  some  of  the  quarter- 
master's boats,  to  Port  Royal  Island,  on  the  seabord 
of  South  Carolina,  "  to  collect  at  that  place,  from 
fi'iends  or  enemies,  by  money  or  by  force,  all  the  horses 
belonging  to  the  islands  in  the  neighborhood."  He 
succeeded  in  procuring  horses,  though  of  an  inferior 
quality  to  those  he  had  lost,  but  consoled  himself  with 
the  persuasion  that  he  would  secure  better  ones  in  the 
course  of  the  campaign,  by  "  exertion  and  enterprise," 
— a  vague  phrase,  but  very  significant  in  the  partisan 
vocabulary 

In  the  mean  time,  the  transports  having  on  board  a 
great  part  of  the  army,  sailed  under  convoy  on  the 
10th  of  February,  from  Savannah  to  North  Edisto 
Sound,  where  the  troops  disembarked  on  the  11th,  on 
St.  Johns  Island,  about  thirty  miles  below  Charleston. 
Thence,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  set  out  for  the  banks  of 
Ashley  River  opposite  to  the  city,  while  a  part  of  the 
fleet  proceeded  round  by  sea,  for  the  purpose  of  block- 


1780.]  CHARLESTON    FORTIFIED.  29 

ading  the  harbor.  The  advance  of  Sir  Henry  was 
slow  and  cautious.  Much  time  was  consumed  by 
him  in  fortifying  intermediate  ports,  to  keep  up  a 
secure  communication  with  the  fleet.  He  ordered 
from  Savannah  all  the  troops  that  could  be  spared,  and 
wrote  to  Knyphausen,  at  New  York,  for  reinforcements 
from  that  place.  Every  precaution  was  taken  by  him 
to  insure  against  a  second  repulse  from  before  Charles- 
ton, which  might  prove  fatal  to  his  mihtary  reputation. 

General  Lincoln  took  advantage  of  this  slowness 
on  the  part  of  his  assailant,  to  extend  and  strengthen 
the  works.  Charleston  stands  at  the  end  of  an  isthmus 
formed  by  the  Ashley  and  Cooper  Rivers.  Beyond 
the  mam  works  on  the  land  side  he  cut  a  canal,  from 
one  to  the  other  of  the  swamps  which  border  th.ese 
rivers.  In  advance  of  the  canal  were  two  rows  of 
abatis  and  a  double  picketed  ditch.  Within  the  canal, 
and  between  it  and  the  main  works,  were  strong  re- 
doubts and  batteries,  to  open  a  flanking  fire  on  any 
approaching  column,  while  an  inclosed  hornwork  of 
masonry  formed  a  kind  of  citadel. 

A  squadron,  commanded  by  Commodore  Whipple, 
and  composed  of  nine  vessels  of  war  of  various  sizes, 
the  largest  mounting  forty-four  guns,  was  to  co-operate 
with  Eorts  Moultrie  and  Johnston  and  the  various  bat- 
teries, in  the  defence  of  the  harbor.  They  were  to  he 
before  the  bar  so  as  to  command  the  entrance  of  it. 
Great  reUance  also  was  placed  on  the  bar  itself,  which 
it  was  thought  no  ship-of-the-line  could  pass. 

Governor  Rutledge,  a  man  eminent  for  talents, 
patriotism,  firmness  and  decision,  was  clothed  with 
dictatorial  powers  during  the  present  crisis;  he  had 


30  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

called  out  the  militia  of  the  State,  and  it  was  supposed 
they  would  duly  obey  the  call.  Large  reinforcements 
of  troops  also  were  expected  from  the  North.  Under 
all  these  circumstances,  General  Lmcoln  yielded  to 
the  entreaties  of  the  inhabitants,  and,  instead  of 
remaining  with  his  army  in  the  open  country,  as  he 
had  intended,  shut  himself  up  with  them  in  the  place 
for  its  defence,  leavmg  merely  his  cavalry  and  two  hun- 
dred light  troops  outside,  who  were  to  hover  about 
the  enemy  and  prevent  small  parties  from  maraudmg. 

It  was  not  until  the  12th  of  March  that  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  eflfected  his  tardy  approach,  and  took  up  a  posi- 
tion on  Charleston  Neck,  a  few  miles  above  the  town. 
Admiral  Arbuthnot  soon  showed  an  intention  of  intro- 
ducing his  ships  into  the  harbor,  barricading  their 
waists,  anchoring  them  in  a  situation  where  they  might 
take  advantage  of  the  first  favorable  spring-tide,  and 
fixing  buoys  on  the  bar  for  their  guidance.  Commodore 
Whipple  had  by  this  time  ascertained  by  sounding, 
that  a  wrong  idea  had  prevailed  of  the  depth  of  water 
in  the  harbor  and  that  his  ships  could  not  anchor  nearer 
than  within  three  miles  of  the  bar,  so  that  it  would  be 
impossible  for  him  to  defend  the  passage  of  it.  He 
qmtted  his  station  within  it,  therefore,  after  having 
destroyed  a  part  of  the  enemy's  buoys,  and  took  a 
position  where  his  ships  might  be  abreast,  and  form  a 
cross-fire  with  the  batteries  of  Fort  Moultrie,  where 
Colonel  Pinckney  commanded. 

Washington  was  informed  of  these  facts,  by  letters 
from  his  former  aide-de-camp.  Colonel  Laurens,  who 
was  in  Charleston  at  the  time.  The  information  caused 
anxious  forebodings.     "  The  impracticability  of  defend- 


1780.]         TROOPS   EMBARKED   AT   NEW    YORK.  31 

ing  the  bar,  I  fear,  amounts  to  the  loss  of  the  town 
and  garrison,"  writes  he  in  reply.  **  It  really  appears 
to  me,  that  the  propriety  of  attempting  to  defend  the 
town,  depended  on  the  probability  of  defendmg  the 
bar,  and  that  when  this  ceased,  the  attempt  ought  to 
have  been  relmquished."  The  same  opinion  was  ex- 
pressed by  him  m  a  letter  to  Baron  Steuben ,  "  but  at 
this  distance/'  adds  he  considerately,  "we  can  form  a 
very  imperfect  judgment  of  its  propriety  or  necessity. 
I  have  the  greatest  reliance  in  General  Lincoln's  pru- 
dence, but  I  cannot  forbear  dreading  the  event." 

His  solicitude  for  the  safety  of  the  South  was 
increased,  by  hearing  of  the  embarkation  at  New  York 
of  two  thousand  five  hundred  British  and  Hessian 
troops,  under  Lord  Rawdon,  reinforcements  for  Sir 
Henry  Clinton.  It  seemed  evident  the  enemy  intended 
to  push  their  operations  with  vigor  at  the  South ;  per- 
haps, to  make  it  the  principal  theatre  of  the  war. 
*'  We  are  now  beginning,"  said  Washington,  *'  to 
ex^rience  the  fatal  consequences  of  the  policy  which 
delayed  calling  upon  the  States  for  their  quotas  of 
men  m  time  to  arrange  and  prepare  them  for  the 
duties  of  the  field.  What  to  do  for  the  Southern 
States,  without  involving  consequences  equally  alarming 
in  this  quarter,  I  know  not." 

Gladly  would  he  have  hastened  to  the  South  in 
person,  but  at  this  moment  his  utmost  vigilance  was 
required  to  keep  watch  upon  New  York  and  maintain 
the  security  of  the  Hudson,  the  vital  part  of  the  con- 
federacy. The  weak  state  of  the  American  means  of 
warfare  in  both  quarters,  presented  'a  choice  of  diffi- 
culties.   The  South  needed  support.     Could  the  North 


32  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

give  it  without  exposing  itself  to  ruin,  since  the 
enemy,  by  means  of  their  ships,  could  suddenly  unite 
their  forces,  and  fall  upon  any  point  that  they  might 
consider  weak  ?  Such  were  the  perplexities  to  which 
he  was  continually  subjected,  in  having,  with  scanty 
means,  to  provide  for  the  security  of  a  vast  extent  of 
country,  and  with  land  forces  merely,  to  contend  with 
an  amphibious  enemy. 

"  Congress  will  better  conceive  in  how  delicate  a 
situation  we  stand,"  writes  he,  "  when  I  inform  them, 
that  the  whole  operating  force  present  on  this  and  the 
other  side  of  the  North  River,  amounts  only  to  ten 
thousand  four  hundred  rank  and  file,  of  which  about 
two  thousand  eight  hundred  will  have  completed  their 
term  of  service  by  the  last  of  May ;  while  the  enemy's 
regular  force  at  New  York  and  its  dependencies,  must 
amount,  upon  a  moderate  calculation,  to  about  eleven 
thousand  rank  and  file.  Our  situation  is  more  critical 
from  the  impossibility  of  concentrating  our  force,  as 
well  as  for  the  want  of  the  means  of  taking  the  fitld, 
as  on  account  of  the  early  period  of  the  season."  * 

Looking,  however,  as  usual,  to  the  good  of  the 
whole  Union,  he  determined  to  leave  something  at  haz- 
ard in  the  Middle  States,  where  the  country  was  inter- 
nally so  strong,  and  yield  further  succor  to  the  South- 
ern States,  which  had  not  equal  military  advantages. 
With  the  consent  of  Congress,  therefore,  he  put  the 
Maryland  line  under  marching  orders,  together  with 
the  Delaware  regiment,  which  acted  with  it,  and  the 
first  regiment  of  artiUery. 

*  Letter  to  the  Frendent,  April  2d. 


1780.]  STEADFASTNESS   OF    MIND.  33 

The  Baron  de  Kalb,  now  at  the  head  of  the  Maiy- 
land  division,  was  instructed  to  conduct  this  detach- 
ment with  all  haste  to  the  aid  of  General  Lincoln.  He 
might  not  arrive  in  time  to  prevent  the  fall  of  Charles- 
ton, but  he  might  assist  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the 
enemy  and  save  the  Carolinas. 

Washington  had  been  put  upon  his  guard  of  late 
against  intrigues,  forming  by  members  of  the  old  Con- 
way cabal,  who  intended  to  take  advantage  of  every 
mihtary  disaster  to  destroy  confidence  m  him.  His 
steady  mind,  however,  was  not  to  be  shaken  by  suspi- 
cion. "  Against  intrigues  of  this  kind  incident  to 
every  man  of  a  public  station,"  said  he,  "  his  best  sup- 
port will  be  a  faithful  discharge  of  his  duty,  and  he 
must  rely  on  the  justice  of  his  country  for  the  event." 

His  feelings  at  the  present  juncture  are  admirably 
expressed  in  a  letter  to  the  Baron  de  Steuben.  "  The 
prospect,  my  dear  Baron,  is  gloomy,  and  the  storm 
tlu-eatens,  but  I  hope  we  shall  extricate  ourselves,  and 
bnng  every  thing  to  a  prosperous  issue.  I  have  been 
so  inured  to  difficulties  in  the  course  of  this  contest, 
that  I  have  learned  to  look  upon  them  with  more  tran- 
quillity than  formerly.  Those  which  now  present  them- 
selves, no  doubt  require  vigorous  exertions  to  overcome 
them,  and  I  am  far  from  despairing  of  doing  it.*'  * 

*  Washington's  Writings,  vii.  10. 
VOL.  IV. — 3 


CHAPTER    IV. 

EVILS  OF  rnE  COXXrNENTAL  CXTEKENOT — MILITAEY  EEF0KM3  PROPOSED 
BT  YTASniNGTON — CONGRESS  JEALOUS  OP  MILITARY  POWER — COAOnT- 
TEE  OF  THREE  SENT  TO  CONFER  TnTH  WASHINGTON — LOSSES  BY  DE- 
PRECIATION OF  THE  CURRENCY  TO  BE  MADE  GOOD  TO  THE  TROOPS 
— ARRIVAL  OF  LAFAYETTE — SCHEME  FOR  A  COMBINED  ATTACK  UPON 
NEW  YORK — ARNOLD  HAS  DEBTS  AND  DIFFICULTIES — HIS  PROPOSALS 
TO  THE  FRENCH  MINISTER — ANXIOUS  TO  RETURN  TO  THE  ARMY — 
MUTINY  OF  THE  CONNECTICUT  TROOPS — WASHINGTON  WRITES  TO 
BEED  FOE  AID  FROM  PENNSYLVANIA — GOOD  EFFECTS  OF  HIS  LET- 
TER. 

We  have  cited  the  depreciation  of  the  currency  as  a 
main  cause  of  the  difficulties  and  distresses  of  the  army. 
The  troops  were  paid  in  paper  money  at  its  nominal 
value.  A  memorial  of  the  officers  of  the  Jersey  line 
to  the  legislature  of  their  State,  represented  the  depre- 
ciation to  be  so  great,  that  foiu:  months'  pay  of  a  private 
soldier  would  not  procure  for  his  family  a  single 
bushel  of  wheat ;  the  pay  of  a  colonel  would  not  pur- 
chase oats  for  his  horse,  and  a  common  laborer  or 
express  rider  could  earn  four  times  the  pay  in  paper 
of  an  American  officer. 

Congress,  too,  in  its  exigencies,  being  destitute  of 
the  power  of  levying  taxes,  which  vested  in  the  State 
governments,  devolved  upon  those  governments,   in 


1780.]  MILITARY   REFORMS   PROPOSED.  35 

their  separate  capacities,  the  business  of  supporting 
the  army.  This  produced  a  great  inequality  in  the 
condition  of  the  troops ;  according  to  the  means  and 
the  degree  of  Uberality  of  their  respective  States. 
Some  States  furnished  their  troops  amply,  not  only 
with  clothing,  but  with  many  comforts  and  conven- 
iencies ;  others  were  more  contracted  in  their  supplies ; 
while  others  left  their  troops  almost  destitute.  Some 
of  the  States,  too,  undertook  to  make  good  to  their 
troops  the  loss  in  their  pay  caused  by  the  depreciation 
of  the  currency.  As  this  was  not  general,  it  increased 
the  inequality  of  condition.  Those  who  fared  worse 
than  others  were  incensed,  not  only  against  their  own 
State,  but  against  the  confederacy.  They  were  dis- 
gusted with  a  service  that  made  such  injurious  distinc- 
tions. Some  of  the  officers  resigned,  finding  it  impos- 
sible, under  actual  circumstances,  to  maintain  an 
appearance  suitable  to  their  rank.  The  men  had  not 
this  resource.  They  murmured  and  showed  a  tendency 
to  seditious  combinations. 

These,  and  other  defects  in  the  military  system, 
were  pressed  by  Washington  upon  the  attention  of 
Congress  in  a  letter  to  the  President:  "It  were 
devoutly  to  be  mshed,"  observed  he,  "  that  a  plan  could 
be  devised  by  which  every  thing  relating  to  the  army 
could  be  conducted  on  a  general  principle,  under  the 
direction  of  Congress.  This  alone  can  give  harmony 
and  consistency  to  our  military  establishment,  and  I 
am  persuaded  it  will  be  infinitely  conducive  to  public 
economy."  * 

*  Washington's  Writings,  Sparks,  vol.  vii.  p.  ii* 


36  LIFE   OF    WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

In  consequence  of  this  letter  it  was  proposed  in 
Congress  to  send  a  committee  of  three  of  its  members 
to  head-quarters  to  consult  Avith  the  commander-m-chief, 
and,  in  conjunction  with  him,  to  effect  such  refonns 
and  changes  in  the  various  departments  of  the  army 
as  might  be  deemed  necessary.  Warm  debates  ensued. 
It  was  objected  that  this  would  put  too  much  power 
into  a  few  hands,  and  especially  into  those  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief; ^^  that  his  influence  ivas  already  too 
great ;  that  even  his  virtues  afforded  motives  for  alarm ; 
that  the  enthusiasm  of  the  army,  joined  to  the  kind 
of  dictatorship  already  confided  to  him,  put  Congress 
and  the  United  States  at  his  mercy ;  that  it  was  not  ex- 
pedient  to  expose  a  man  of  the  highest  virtues  to  such 
temptations."  * 

The  foregoing  passage  from  a  despatch  of  the 
French  minister  to  his  government,  is  strongly  illustra- 
tive of  the  cautious  jealousy  still  existing  in  Congress 
with  regard  to  military  power,  even  though  wielded 
by  Washington. 

After  a  prolonged  debate,  a  committee  of  three  was 
chosen  by  ballot ;  it  consisted  of  General  Schuyler  and 
Messrs.  John  Mathews,  and  Nathaniel  Peabody.  It 
was  a  great  satisfaction  to  Washington  to  have  his  old 
friend  and  coadjutor,  Schuyler,  near  him  in  this  capa- 
city, m  which,  he  declared,  no  man  could  be  more  use- 
ful, "  from  his  perfect  knowledge  of  the  resources  of 
the  country,  the  activity  of  his  temper,  his  fruitfulness 
of  expedients  and  his  sound  military  sense."  f 

The  committee  on  arriving  at  the  camp  found  the 

*  Washington's  Writings,  Sparks,  vol.  vii.  p.  16. 
f  Washington  to  James  Duane,  Sparks,  vii.  34. 


1780.]  ARRIVAL   OF   LAFAYETTE.  37 

disastrous  state  of  affairs  had  not  been  exaggerated. 
For  five  months  the  army  had  been  unpaid.  Every 
department  was  destitute  of  money  or  credit;  there 
were  rarely  provisions  for  six  days  in  advance ,  on 
some  occasions  the  troops  had  been  for  several  succes- 
sive days  without  meat;  there  was  no  forage,  the 
medical  department  had  neither  tea,  chocolate,  wine, 
nor  spirituous  liquors  of  any  kind.  "  Yet  the  men," 
said  Washington,  "  have  borne  their  distress  in  gen- 
eral, with  a  firmness  and  patience  never  exceeded,  and 
every  commendation  is  due  to  the  officers  for  encourag- 
ing them  to  it  by  exhortation  and  example.  They 
have  suffered  equally  with  the  men,  and,  their  relative 
situations  considered,  rather  more"  Indeed,  we  have 
it  from  another  authority,  that  many  officers  for  some 
time  lived  on  bread  and  cheese,  rather  than  take  any 
of  the  scanty  allowance  of  meat  from  the  men.''- 

To  soothe  the  discontents  of  the  army,  and  coun- 
teract the  alarming  effects  of  the  depreciation  of  the 
currency.  Congress  now  adopted  the  measure  already 
observed  by  some  of  the  States,  and  engaged  to  make 
good  to  the  Continental  and  the  independent  troops 
the  difference  in  the  value  of  their  pay  caused  by  this 
depreciation ;  and  that  all  moneys  or  other  articles  here- 
tofore received  by  them,  should  be  considered  as 
advanced  on  account,  and  comprehended  at  their  just 
value  m  the  final  settlement. 

At  this  gloomy  crisis  came  a  letter  from  the  Mar- 
quis de  Lafayette,  dated  April  27th,  announcing  his 
arrival  at  Boston.     Washmgton's  eyes,  we  are  told, 

*  Gen.  William  Irvine  to  Joseph  Reed.     Reed's  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  201. 


38  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

were  suffused  with  tears  as  he  read  this  most  welcome 
epistle,  and  the  warmth  with  which  he  replied  to  it, 
showed  his  affectionate  regard  for  this  young  nobleman. 
"  I  received  your  letter,"  writes  he,  "  with  all  the  joy 
that  the  sincerest  friendship  could  dictate,  and  with 
that  impatience  which  an  ardent  desire  to  see  you  could 
not  fail  to  inspire.  *  *  *  I  most  sincerely  con- 
gratulate you  on  your  safe  arrival  in  America,  and  shall 
embrace  you  with  all  the  warmth  of  an  affectionate 
fnend  when  you  come  to  head-quarters,  where  a  bed 
is  prepared  for  you." 

He  would  immediately  have  sent  a  troop  of  horse 
to  escort  the  marquis  through  the  tory  settlements  be- 
tween Morristown  and  the  Hudson,  had  he  known  the 
route  he  intended  to  take ;  the  latter,  however,  arrived 
safe  at  head-quarters  on  the  12th  of  May,  where  he 
was  welcomed  with  acclamations,  for  he  was  popular 
with  both  officers  and  soldiers.  Washington  folded 
him  in  his  arms  in  a  truly  paternal  embrace,  and  they 
were  soon  closeted  together  to  talk  over  the  state  of 
affairs,  when  Lafayette  made  knowii  the  result  of  his 
visit  to  France.  His  generous  efforts  at  court  had 
been  crowned  with  success,  and  he  brought  the  animat- 
ing intelligence,  that  a  French  fleet,  under  the  Cheva- 
lier de  Ternay,  was  to  put  to  sea  early  in  April,  brmg- 
ing  a  body  of  troops  under  the  Count  de  Rochambeau, 
and  might  soon  be  expected  on  the  coast  to  co-operate 
with  the  American  forces ;  this,  however,  he  was  at 
liberty  to  make  known  only  to  Washington  and  Con- 
gress. 

Remaining  but  a  single  day  at  head-quarters,  he 
liastened  on  to  the  seat  of  e^ovemment,  where  he  met 


1780.]     REDUCTION    OF    NEW   YORK   MEDITATED.  39 

the  reception  whicli  his  generous  enthusiasm  in  the 
cause  of  American  Independence  had  so  fully  merited. 
Congress,  in  a  resolution  on  the  16th  of  May,  pro- 
nounced his  return  to  America  to  resume  his  command 
a  fresh  proof  of  the  disinterested  zeal  and  persevering 
attachment  which  had  secured  him  the  pubHc  confi- 
dence and  applause,  and  received  with  pleasure  a  "  ten- 
der of  the  further  services  of  so  gallant  and  meritori- 
ous an  officer." 

Within  three  days  after  the  departure  of  the  mar- 
quis from  Momstown,  Washington,  in  a  letter  to  him, 
gave  his  idea  of  the  plan  which  it  woidd  be  proper  for 
the  French  fleet  and  army  to  pursue  on  their  aiTival 
upon  the  coast.  The  reduction  of  New  York  he 
considered  the  first  enterprise  to  be  attempted  by  the 
co-operating  forces.  The  whole  effective  land  force  of 
the  enemy  he  estimated  at  about  eight  thousand  regu- 
lars and  four  thousand  refugees,  with  some  militia,  on 
which  no  great  dependence  could  be  placed.  Their 
naval  force  consisted  of  one  seventy-four  gun-ship,  and 
three  or  four  small  frigates.  In  this  situation  of  affairs 
the  French  fleet  might  enter  the  harbor  and  gain  pos- 
session of  it  without  difficulty,  cut  off  its  communica- 
tions, and,  with  the  co-operation  of  the  American 
army,  oblige  the  city  to  capitulate.  He  advised  Lafay- 
ette, therefore,  to  write  to  the  French  commanders, 
urging  them,  on  their  arrival  on  the  coast,  to  proceed 
with  their  land  and  naval  forces,  with  all  expedition,  to 
Sandy  Hook,  and  there  await  further  advices  ;  should 
they  learn,  however,  that  the  expedition  under  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  had  returned  from  the  South  to  New 
York,  they  were  to  proceed  to  Rhode  Island. 


40  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

General  Arnold  was  at  this  time  in  Philadelphia, 
and  his  connection  with  subsequent  events  requires  a 
few  words  concerning  his  career,  daily  becoming  more 
perplexed. .  He  lied  again  petitioned  Congress  on  the 
subject  of  his  accounts.  The  Board  of  Treasury  had 
made  a  report  far  short  of  his  wishes.  He  had 
appealed,  and  his  appeal,  together  with  all  the  documents 
connected  with  the  case,  was  referred  to  a  committee  of 
three.  The  old  doubts  and  difficulties  continued .  there 
was  no  prospect  of  a  speedy  settlement,  he  was  in 
extremity.  The  French  minister,  M.  de  Luzerne,  was 
at  hand  ;  a  generous-spirited  man,  who  had  manifested 
admiration  of  his  military  character.  To  him  Ar- 
nold now  repaired  in  his  exigency;  made  a  pas- 
sionate representation  of  the  hardships  of  his  case; 
the  inveterate  hostility  he  had  experienced  from  Penn- 
sylvania ;  the  ingratitude  of  his  country  ;  the  disorder 
brought  into  his  private  affairs  by  the  war,  and  the 
necessity  he  should  be  driven  to  of  abandoning  his 
profession,  unless  he  coidd  borrow  a  sum  equal  to  the 
amount  of  his  debts.  Such  a  loan,  he  intimated,  it 
might  be  the  interest  of  the  King  of  Prance  to  grant, 
thereby  securing  the  attachment  and  gratitude  of  an 
American  general  of  his  rank  and  influence. 

The  Prench  minister  was  too  much  of  a  diplomatist 
not  to  understand  the  bearing  of  the  intimation,  but 
he  slirank  from  it,  observing,  that  the  service  re- 
quired would  degrade  both  parties.  "  When  the 
envoy  of  a  foreign  power,"  said  he,  "  gives,  or  if  you 
will,  lends,  money,  it  is  ordinarily  to  corrupt  those  who 
receive  it,  and  to  make  them  the  creatures  of  the  sove- 
reign whom  he  serves  ;  or  rather,  he  corrupts  without 


1780.]      ARNOLD    AND    THE   TRENCH    MINISTER.  41 

persuading ,  he  buys  and  does  not  secure.  But  the 
league  entered  into  between  the  king  and  the  United 
States,  is  the  work  of  justice  and  of  the  wisest  policy. 
It  has  for  its  basis  a  reciprocal  interest  and  good-will. 
In  the  mission  with  which  I  am  charged,  my  true  glory 
consists  in  fulfilling  it  without  intrigue  or  cabal; 
Avithout  resorting  to  any  secret  practices,  and  by  the 
force  alone  of  the  conditions  of  the  alliance." 

M.  de  Luzerne  endeavored  to  soften  this  re- 
pulse and  reproof,  by  complimenting  Arnold  on  the 
splendor  of  his  past  career,  and  by  alluding  to  the  field 
of  glory  still  before  him,  but  the  pressure  of  debts 
was  not  to  be  lightened  by  compliments,  and  Arnold 
retired  from  the  interview,  a  mortified  and  desperate 
man. 

He  was  m  this  mood  when  he  heard  of  the  expected 
arrival  of  aid  from  France,  and  the  talk  of  an  active 
campaign.  It  seemed  as  if  his  military  ambition  was 
once  more  aroused.  To  General  Schuyler,  who  was 
about  to  visit  the  camp  as  one  of  the  committee,  he 
wrote  on  the  25th  of  May,  expressing  a  determination 
to  rejoin  the  army,  although  his  wounds  stiU  made  it 
painful  to  walk  or  nde,  and  intimated,  that,  m  his 
present  condition,  the  command  at  West  Point  would 
be  best  suited  to  him. 

In  reply,  General  Schuyler  wrote  from  Morristown, 
June  2d,  that  he  had  put  Arnold's  letter  into  Washing- 
ton's hands,  and  added  :  "  He  expressed  a  desire  to  do 
whatever  was  agreeable  to  you,  dwelt  on  your  abihties, 
your  merits,  your  sufferings,  and  on  the  weU-eamed 
claims  you  have  on  your  country,  and  intimated,  that 


42  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

as  soon  as  his  arratigements  for  the  campaign  should 
take  place,  he  would  properly  consider  you." 

In  the  mean  time,  the  army  with  which  Washington 
was  to  co-operate  in  the  projected  attack  upon  New 
York,  was  so  reduced  by  the  departure  of  troops  whose 
term  had  expired,  and  the  tardiness  in  furnishmg 
recruits,  that  it  did  not  amount  quite  to  four  thousand 
rank  and  file,  fit  for  duty.  Among  these  was  a 
prevalent  discontent.  Their  pay  was  five  months  in 
arrear ,  if  now  paid  it  would  be  in  Continental  cur- 
rency, without  allowance  for  depreciation,  consequently, 
almost  worthless  for  present  purposes. 

A  long  interval  of  scarcity  and  several  days  of 
actual  famine,  brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  On  the  25th 
of  May,  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  two  regiments 
of  the  Connecticut  line^  assembled  on  their  parade  by 
beat  of  drum,  and  declared  their  intention  to  march 
home  bag  and  baggage,  "  or,  at  best,  to  gain  subsist- 
ence at  the  point  of  the  bayonet."  Colonel  Meigs, 
while  endeavoring  to  suppress  the  mutiny, was  struck 
by  one  of  the  soldiers.  Some  officers  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania line  came  to  his  assistance,  parading  their  regi- 
ments. Every  argument  and  expostulation  was  used 
with  the  mutineers.  They  were  reminded  of  their 
past  good  conduct,  of  the  noble  objects  for  which  they 
were  contending,  and  of  the  future  indemnifications 
promised  by  Congress.  Their  answer  was,  that  tlieir 
sufferings  were  too  great  to  be  allayed  by  promises,  in 
which  they  had  httle  faith ;  they  wanted  present  rehef, 
and  some  present  substantial  recompense  for  their 
services. 

It  was  with  difficulty  they  could  be  prevailed  upon 


1780.]  MUTINY   IN    THE   CAMPS.  43 

to  return  to  their  huts.  Indeed,  a  few  tunied  out  a 
second  time,  with  their  packs,  and  were  not  to  be  paci- 
fied.    These  were  arrested  and  confined. 

This  mutiny,  Washington  declared,  had  given  him 
infinitely  more  concern  than  any  thing  that  had  ever 
happened,  especially  as  he  had  no  means  of  paying  the 
troops  excepting  in  Continental  money,  which,  said  he, 
"  is  evidently  impracticable  from  the  immense  quantity 
it  would  require  to  pay  them  as  much  as  would  make 
up  the  depreciation."  His  uneasiness  was  increased 
by  findmg  that  printed  handbills  were  secretly  dissem- 
inated in  his  camp  by  the  enemy,  containing  addresses 
to  the  soldiery,  persuading  them  to  desert.* 

In  this  alarming  state  of  destitution,  Washington 
looked  round  anxiously  for  bread  for  his  famishing 
troops.  New  York,  Jersey,  Pennsylvania  and  Mary- 
land, were  what  he  termed  his  "  flour  country."  Vii- 
ginia  was  sufficiently  tasked  to  supply  the  South. 
New  York,  by  legislative  coercion,  had  already  given 
all  that  she  could  spare  from  the  subsistence  of  her 
inhabitants.  Jersey  was  exhausted  by  the  long  resi- 
dence of  the  army.  Maryland  had  made  great  exer- 
tions, and  might  stOl  do  something  more,  and  Dela- 
ware might  contribute  handsomely,  in  proportion  to 
her  extent :  but  Pennsylvania  was  now  the  chief 
dependence,  for  that  State  was  represented  to  be  full 
of  flour.  Washington's  letter  of  the  16th  of  Decem- 
ber, to  President  Reed,  had  obtained  temporary  relief 
from  that  quarter ;  he  now  wrote  to  him  a  second  time 
and  still  more  earnestly.     "  Every  idea  you  can  form 

*  Letter  to  the  President  of  Cong.,  May  27.     Sparks  vii,  64. 


44  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  fl78U 

of  our  distresses,  will  fall  short  of  the  reality.  There 
is  such  a  combination  of  circumstances  to  exhaust  the 
patience  of  the  soldiery,  that  it  begins  at  length  to  be 
worn  out,  and  we  see  in  every  line  of  the  army,  fea- 
tures of  mutiny  and  sedition.  AH  our  departments, 
all  our  operations  are  at  a  stand,  and  unless  a  system 
very  different  from  that  which  has  a  long  time  pre- 
vailed, be  immediately  adopted  throughout  the  States, 
our  affairs  must  soon  become  desperate  beyond  the  pos- 
sibility of  recovery." 

Nothing  discouraged  Washington  more  than  the 
lethargy  that  seemed  to  deaden  the  public  mind.  He 
speaks  of  it  with  a  degree  of  despondency  scarcely 
ever  before  exhibited.  "  I  have  almost  ceased  to  hope. 
The  country  is  in  such  a  state  of  insensibility  and 
indifference  to  its  interests,  that  I  dare  not  flatter  my- 
self with  any  change  for  the  better."  And  again, — 
"  The  present  juncture  is  so  interesting,  that  if  it  does 
not  produce  correspondent  exertions,  it  will  be  a  proof 
that  motives  of  honor,  public  good,  and  even  self-pres- 
ervation, have  lost  their  influence  on  our  minds. 
This  is  a  decisive  moment ;  one  of  the  most,  I  will  go 
further,  and  say,  the  most  important  America  has  seen. 
The  court  of  France  has  made  a  glorious  effort  for  our 
deliverance,  and  if  we  disappoint  its  intentions  by  our 
supmeness,  we  must  become  contemptible  in  the  eyes 
of  aU  mankind,  nor  can  we  after  that  venture  to  con- 
fide that  our  allies  will  persist  ui  an  attempt  to  estab- 
hsh  what,  it  will  appear,  we  want  inclination  or  ability 
to  assist  them  in."  With  these  and  similar  observations, 
he  sought  to  rouse  President  Reed  to  extraordinary 
exertions.     "  This  is  a  time,"  writes  he,  "  to  hazard 


1780.]  ENERGY   REQUIRED    IN    CONGRESS.  45 

and  to  take  a  tone  of  energy  and  decision.  All  par- 
ties but  the  disaffected  will  acquiesce  in  the  necessity 
and  give  it  their  support."  He  urges  Reed  to  press 
upon  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  the  policy  of 
investing  its  executive  with  plenipotentiary  powers. 
"  I  should  then,"  writes  he,  "  expect  every  thing  from 
your  ability  and  zeal.  This  is  no  time  for  formality  or 
ceremony.  The  crisis  in  every  point  of  view  is  extra- 
ordinary, and  extraordinary  expedients  are  necessary, 
I  am  decided  in  this  opinion." 

His  letter  procured  relief  for  the  army  from  the 
legislature,  and  a  resolve  empowering  the  president 
and  council,  during  its  recess,  to  declare  martial  law, 
should  circumstances  render  it  expedient.  "This," 
observes  Reed,  "  gives  us  a  power  of  doing  what  may 
be  necessary  without  attending  to  the  ordinary  course 
of  law,  and  we  shall  endeavor  to  exercise  it  ^nth  pru- 
dence and  moderation."  * 

In  like  manner,  Washington  endeavored  to  rouse 
the  dormant  fire  of  Congress,  and  impart  to  it  his  own 
indomitable  energy.  "  Certain  I  am,"  writes  he  to 
a  member  of  that  body,  "  unless  Congress  speak  in  a 
more  decisive  tone,  unless  they  are  vested  with  powers 
by  the  several  States,  competent  to  the  purposes  of 
war,  or  assume  them  as  matters  of  right,  and  they  and 
the  States  respectively  act  with  more  energy  than  they 
have  hitherto  done,  that  our  cause  is  lost.  We  can  no 
longer  drudge  on  m  the  old  way.  By  ill-timing  the 
adoption  of  measures,  by  delays  m  the  execution  of 
them,  or  by  unwarrantable  jealousies,  we  incur  enor- 

*  Sparks,  Corr.  of  ihe  Rev.,  vol  ii.  p.  466. 


46  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

mens  expenses  and  derive  no  benefit  from  them.  One 
State  will  comply  Avith  a  requisition  of  Congress ; 
another  neglects  to  do  it;  a  third  executes  it  by 
halves ;  and  all  differ,  either  in  the  manner,  the  matter, 
or  so  much  in  point  of  time,  that  we  are  always  work 
ing  up-hill ;  and,  while  such  a  system  as  the  present 
one,  or  rather  want  of  one,  prevails,  we  shall  ever  be 
unable  to  apply  our  strength  or  resources  to  any  advan- 
tage— I  see  one  head  gradually  changing  into  thirteen. 
I  see  one  army  branching  into  thirteen,  which,  mstead 
of  looking  up  to  Congress  as  the  supreme  controlling 
power  of  the  United  States,  are  considering  themselves 
dependent  on  their  respective  States  :  In  a  word,  I  see 
the  powers  of  Congress  dechning  too  fast  for  the  con- 
sideration and  respect  which  are  due  to  them  as  the 
great  representative  body  of  America,  and  I  am  fearful 
of  the  consequences."  * 

At  this  juncture  came  official  intelligence  from  the 
South,  to  connect  which  with  the  general  course  of 
events,  requires  a  brief  notice  of  the  operations  of 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  that  quarter. 

*  Letter  to  Joseph  Jones.     Sparks,  vii.  67 


CHAPTER    V. 

SIEGE   OP  OHABLKSTOK  CONTINUED — BRITISH   SHIPS  ENTEE  THE  HAEBOB 
— BBITISH    TEOOPS    MAECH    FEOM     SAVANNAH — TAELETON    AND    HIS 

DEAGOOXS — HIS    BBUSH   WITH    COLONEL    WASHINGTON CHAELESTON 

EEINFOECED  BY  WOODFOED — TABLETON's  EXPLOITS  AT  MONK'S  OOK- 
NEE — AT  LANEAU'S  FEEET — SIB  HENEY  CLINTON  EEINFOECED — 
CHAELESTON  CAPITULATES — AFFAIR  OF  TAELETON  AND  BUFOED  ON 
THE  WAXHAW — SIR  HENRY   CLINTON  EMBARKS  FOR  NEW   YORK. 

In  a  preceding  chapter  we  left  the  British  fleet  under 
Admiral  Arbuthnot,  preparing  to  force  its  way  into  the 
harbor  of  Charleston.  Several  days  elapsed  before  the 
ships  were  able,  by  taking  out  their  guns,  provisions 
and  water,  and  avaihng  themselves  of  wind  and  tide, 
to  pass  the  bar.  They  did  so  on  the  20th  of  March, 
with  but  slight  opposition  from  several  galleys.  Com- 
modore Whipple,  then,  seeing  the  vast  superiority  of 
their  force,  made  a  second  retrograde  move,  station- 
ing some  of  his  ships  in  Cooper  Uiver,  and  sinking  the 
rest  at  its  mouth  so  as  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  run- 
ning up  that  river,  and  cutting  off"  communication  with 
the  country  on  the  east :  the  crews  and  heavy  cannon 
were  landed  to  aid  in  the  defence  of  the  town. 

The  reinforcements  expected  from  the  North  were 
not  yet  arrived ;  the  miUtia  of  the  State  did  not  appear 


48  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON,  [1780. 

at  Governor  Rutledge's  command,  and  other  reliances 
were  failmg.  "  Many  of  the  North  Carohna  militia 
whose  terms  have  expired  leave  us  to-day,"  writes  Lin- 
coln to  Washington  on  the  20th  of  March.  "  They 
cannot  be  persuaded  to  remain  longer,  though  the  ene- 
my are  m  our  neighborhood."  * 

At  this  time  the  reinforcements  which  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  had  ordered  from  Savannah  were  marching 
toward  the  Cambayee  under  Bngadier-general  Patter- 
son. On  his  flanks  moved  Major  Ferguson  with  a 
corps  of  riflemen,  and  Major  Cochrane  with  the  infan- 
try of  the  British  legion ,  two  brave  and  enterprising 
officers.  It  was  a  toilsome  march,  through  swamps 
and  difficult  passes.  Being  arrived  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Port  Royal,  where  Tarleton  had  succeeded, 
though  indiflerently,  in  remounting  his  dragoons,  Pat- 
terson sent  orders  to  that  officer  to  join  hun.  Tarleton 
hastened  to  obey  the  order.  His  arrival  was  timely. 
The  Carolina  militia  having  heard  that  all  the  British 
horses  had  perished  at  sea,  made  an  attack  on  the  front  of 
General  Patterson's  force,  supposing  it  to  be  without 
cavalry.  To  their  surprise,  Tarleton  charged  them 
with  his  dragoons,  routed  them,  took  several  prisoners, 
and  what  was  more  acceptable,  a  number  of  horses, 
some  of  the  miUtia,  he  says,  "  being  accoutred  as  cav- 
aliers." 

Tarleton  had  soon  afterwards  to  encounter  a  worthy 
antagonist  in  Colonel  William  Washington,  the  same 
cavalry  officer  who  had  distinguished  himself  at  Tren- 
ton, and  was  destined  to  distinguish  himself  still  more 

*  Correspondence  of  the  Rev.,  vol.  ii.  p.  419. 


1780.]  COLONEL   WASHINGTON.  49 

in  this  Southern  campaign.  He  is  described  as  being 
six  feet  in  height,  broad,  stout  and  corpulent.  Bold  in 
the  field,  careless  in  the  camp ;  kmd  to  his  soldiers ; 
harassing  to  his  enemies ;  gay  and  good-humored ;  with 
an  upright  heart  and  a  generous  hand,  a  universal 
favorite.  He  was  now  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  Con- 
tinental cavalry,  consisting  of  his  own  and  Bland's 
light-horse,  and  Pulaski's  hussars.  A  brush  took  place 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Rantoul's  Bridge.  Colonel 
Washington  had  the  advantage,  took  several  prisoners, 
and  drove  back  the  dragoons  of  the  British  legion,  but 
durst  not  pursue  them  for  want  of  infantry.* 

On  the  7th  of  April,  Brigadier-general  Woodford 
with  seven  hundred  Virginia  troops,  after  a  forced 
march  of  five  hundred  miles  in  thirty  days,  crossed 
from  the  east  side  of  Cooper  River,  by  the  only  pas- 
sage now  open,  and  threw  himself  into  Charleston. 
It  was  a  timely  reinforcement  and  joyfully  welcomed ; 
for  the  garrison,  when  in  greatest  force,  amounted  to 
little  more  than  two  thousand  regulars  and  one  thou- 
sand North  Carolina  mihtia. 

About  the  same  time  Admiral  Arbuthnot,  in  the 
Roebuck,  passed  Sullivan's  Island,  with  a  fresh  south- 
erly breeze,  at  the  head  of  a  squadron  of  seven  armed 
vessels  and  two  transports.  "  It  was  a  magnificent 
spectacle,  satisfactory  to  the  royaUsts,"  writes  the 
admiral.  The  whigs  regarded  it  with  a  rueful  eye. 
Colonel  Pinckney  opened  a  heavy  cannonade  from  the 
batteries  of  Port  Moultrie.  The  ships  thundered  in 
reply,  and  clouds  of  smoke  were  raised,  under  the 

•  Gordon,  iii.  p.  352 — see  also  TarletOQ,  Hist.  Campaign,  p.  8. 
VOL,  IV.' 


50  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

cover  of  which  they  slipped  by,  with  no  greater  loss 
than  twenty-seven  men  killed  and  wounded.  A  store- 
ship  which  followed  the  squadron  ran  aground,  was  set 
on  fire  and  abandoned,  and  subsequently  blew  up. 
The  ships  took  a  position  near  Fort  Johnston,  just 
without  the  range  of  the  shot  from  the  American  bat- 
teries. After  the  passage  of  the  ships,  Colonel  Pinck- 
ney  and  a  part  of  the  garrison  withdrew  from  Fort 
Moultrie. 

The  enemy  had  by  this  time  completed  his  first 
parallel,  and  the  town  being  almost  entirely  invested 
by  sea  and  land,  received  a  joint  summons  from  the 
British  general  and  admiral  to  surrender.  "Sixty 
days  have  passed,"  writes  Lincoln  in  reply,  "  since  it 
has  been  known  that  your  intentions  against  this  town 
were  hostile,  in  which,  time  has  been  afforded  to  aban- 
don it,  but  duty  and  inclination  point  to  the  propriety 
of  supporting  it  to  the  last  extremity." 

The  British  batteries  were  now  opened.  The  siege 
was  carried  on  deliberately  by  regular  parallels,  and  on 
a  scale  of  magnitude  scarcely  warranted  by  the  moder- 
ate strength  of  the  place.  A  great  object  with  the 
besieged  was  to  keep  open  the  channel  of  communi- 
cation with  the  country  by  the  Cooper  River,  the  last 
that  remained  by  which  they  could  receive  reinforce- 
ments and  supplies,  or  could  retreat,  if  necessary.  For 
this  purpose.  Governor  Rutledge,  leaving  the  town  in 
the  care  of  Lieutenant-governor  Gadsden,  and  one  half 
of  the  executive  council,  set  off  with  the  other  half, 
and  endeavored  to  rouse  the  mihtia  between  the  Cooper 
and  Santee  Rivers.  His  success  was  extremely  limited. 
Two  militia  posts  were  established  by  him ;  one  between 


1780.]  MAJOR   PATRICK   FERGUSON.  51 

these  rivers,  the  other  at  a  ferry  on  the  Santee ;  some 
regular  troops,  also,  had  been  detached  by  Lincoln  to 
throw  up  works  about  nine  miles  above  the  town,  on- 
the  Wando,  a  branch  of  Cooper  River,  and  at  Lempri- 
ere's Point,  and  Brigadier-general  Huger,*  with  a  force 
of  militia  and  Continental  cavalry,  including  those  of 
Colonel  William  Washington,  was  stationed  at  Monk's 
Corner,  about  thirty  miles  above  Charleston,  to  guard 
the  passes  at  the  head  waters  of  Cooper  River 

Sir  Henry  Clinton,  when  proceeding  with  his 
second  parallel,  detached  Lieutenant-colonel  Webster 
with  fourteen  hundred  men  to  break  up  these  posts. 
The  most  distant  one  was  that  of  Huger 's  cavalry  at 
Monk's  Comer  The  surprisal  of  this  was  entrusted 
to  Tarleton,  who,  with  his  dragoons,  was  in  Webster's 
advanced  guard.  He  was  to  be  seconded  by  Major 
Patrick  Ferguson  with  his  riflemen. 

Ferguson  was  a  fit  associate  for  Tarleton,  in  har- 
dy, scrambUng,  partisan  enterprise  ;  equally  intrepid 
and  determined,  but  cooler  and  more  open  to  impulses 
of  humanity.  He  was  the  son  of  an  eminent  Scotch 
judge,  had  entered  the  army  at  an  early  age,  and  served 
in  the  German  wars.  The  British  extolled  him  as 
superior  to  the  American  Indians  m  the  use  of  the 
rifle,  in  short,  as  being  the  best  marksman  living.  He 
had  invented  one  which  could  be  loaded  at  the  breech 
and  discharged  seven  times  in  a  minute.  It  had  been 
used  with  effect  by  his  corps.  Washington,  according 
to  British  authority,  had  owed  his  life  at  the  battle  of 
Germantown,  solely  to  Ferguson's  ignorance  of  his 

•  Pronounced  Hugee — of  French  Huguenot  descent. 


52  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

person,  having  repeatedly  been  within  reach  of  the  col- 
onel's unerring  rifle.* 

On  the  evening  of  the  13th  of  April,  Tarleton 
moved  with  the  van  toward  Monk's  Comer.  A  night 
march  had  been  judged  the  most  advisable.  It  was 
made  m  profound  silence  and  by  unfrequented  roads. 
In  the  course  of  the  march,  a  negro  was  descried 
attempting  to  avoid  notice.  He  was  seized.  A  letter 
was  found  on  him  from  an  officer  in  Huger's  camp, 
from  which  Tarleton  learned  something  of  its  situation 
and  the  distribution  of  the  troops.  A  few  dollars 
gained  the  services  of  the  negro  as  a  guide.  The  sur- 
prisal  of  General  Huger's  camp  was  complete.  Sev- 
eral officers  and  men  who  attempted  to  defend  them- 
selves, were  kiUed  or  wounded.  General  Huger,  Col- 
onel Washington,  with  many  others,  officers  and  men, 
escaped  in  the  darkness  to  the  neighboring  swamps. 
One  hundred  officers,  dragoons  and  hussars,were  taken, 
with  about  four  hundred  horses  and  near  fifty  waggons, 
laden  with  arms,  clothing  and  ammunition. 

Biggins  Bridge  on  Cooper  River  was  likewise 
secured,  and  the  way  opened  for  Colonel  Webster  to 
ad^  ance  nearly  to  the  head  of  the  passes,  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  shut  up  Charleston  entirely. 

In  the  course  of  the  maraud  which  generally 
accompanies  a  surprisal  of  the  kind,  several  dragoons 
of  the  British  legion  broke  into  a  house  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Monk's  Corner,  and  maltreated  and  attempted 
violence  upon  ladies  residing  there.  The  ladies  escaped 
to  Monk's  Comer,  where  they  were  protected,  and  a 

*  Annual  Register,  1781,  p.  52. 


1Y80.]  JIAT   OF   FERGUSON.  53 

carriage  furnished  to  convey  them  to  a  place  of  safety. 
The  dragoons  were  apprehended  and  brought  to  Monk's 
Corner,  where  by  this  time  Colonel  Webster  had  ar- 
rived. Major  Ferguson,  we  are  told,  was  for  putting 
the  dragoons  to  instant  death,  but  Colonel  Webster 
did  not  think  his  powers  warranted  such  a  measure. 
"  They  were  sent  to  head-quarters,'*  adds  the  historian, 
"and,  I  beheve,  afterwards  tried  and  whipped."  * 

We  gladly  record  one  instance  in  which  the  atroci- 
ties which  disgraced  this  invasion  met  with  some 
degree  of  punishment ;  and  we  honor  the  rough  sol- 
dier, Ferguson,  for  the  fiat  of  "  mstant  death,"  with 
which  he  would  have  requited  the  most  infamous  and 
dastardly  outrage  that  brutalizes  warfare. 

During  the  progress  of  the  siege.  General  Lincoln 
held  repeated  councils  of  war,  in  which  he  manifested 
a  disposition  to  evacuate  the  place.  This  measure  was 
likewise  urged  by  General  Du  Portail,  who  had  pene- 
trated, by  secret  ways,  into  the  town.  The  inhabitants, 
however,  in  an  agony  of  alarm,  implored  Lincoln  not 
to  abandon  them  to  the  mercies  of  an  infuriated  and 
Hcentious  soldiery,  and  the  general,  easy  and  kind- 
hearted,  yielded  to  their  entreaties. 

The  American  cavalry  had  gradually  reassembled 
on  the  north  of  the  Santee,  under  Colonel  White  of 
New  Jersey,  where  they  were  joined  by  some  mihtia 
infantry,  and  by  Colonel  William  Washington,  with 
such  of  his  dragoons  as  had  escaped  at  Monk's  Corner. 
ComwaUis  had  committed  the  country  between  Cooper 
and  Wando  Rivers  to  Tarleton's  charge,  with  orders  to 

*  Stedman,  ii.  183. 


64  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  fl780. 

be  continually  on  the  move  with  the  cavalry  and  infan- 
try of  the  legion ;  to  watch  over  the  landing-places ; 
obtain  intelligence  from  the  town,  the  Santee  River 
and  the  back  country,  and  to  burn  such  stores  as  might 
fall  into  his  hands  rather  than  risk  their  being  retaken 
by  the  enemy. 

Hearing  of  the  fortuitous  assemblage  of  American 
troops,  Tarleton  came  suddenly  upon  them  by  surprise 
at  Laneau's  Ferry.  It  was  one  of  his  bloody  exploits. 
Five  officers  and  thirty-six  men  were  killed  and 
wounded,  and  seven  officers  and  six  dragoons  taken, 
with  horses,  arms  and  equipments.  Colonels  White, 
Washington  and  Jamieson,  with  other  officers  and  men, 
threw  themselves  into  the  river  and  escaped  by  swim- 
ming ;  while  some,  who  followed  their  example,  per- 
ished. 

The  arrival  of.  a  reinforcement  of  three  thousand 
men  from  New  York,  enabled  Sir  Henry  Chnton  to 
throw  a  powerful  detachment,  under  Lord  Cornwallis, 
to  the  east  of  Cooper  River,  to  complete  the  investment 
of  the  town  and  cut  off  all  retreat.  Fort  Moultrie 
surrendered.  The  batteries  of  the  third  parallel  were 
opened  upon  the  town.  They  were  so  near,  that  the 
Hessian  yagers,  or  sharp-shooters,  could  pick  off  the 
garrison  while  at  their  guns  or  on  the  parapets.  This 
fire  was  kept  up  for  two  days.  The  besiegers  crossed 
the  canal ;  pushed  a  double  sap  to  the  inside  of  the 
abatis,  and  prepared  to  make  an  assault  by  sea  and 
land. 

All  hopes  of  successful  defence  were  at  an  end. 
The  works  were  in  ruins ;  the  guns  almost  all  dis- 
mounted ;  the  garrison  exhausted  with  fatigue,  the  pro- 


1780.]  TEEMS    OF    CAPITULATION.  55 

visions  nearly  consumed.  The  inhabitants,  dreading 
the  horrors  of  an  assault,  joined  in  a  petitum  to  Gen- 
eral Lincoln,  and  prevailed  upon  him  to  offei  a  surren- 
der on  terms  which  had  already  been  offered  and 
rejected.  These  terms  were  still  granted,  and  the 
capitulation  was  signed  on  the  12th  of  May  The 
garrison  were  allowed  some  of  the  honors  of  war. 
They  were  to  march  out  and  deposit  their  arms,  between 
the  canal  and  the  works,  but  the  drums  were  not  to 
beat  a  British  march  nor  the  colors  to  be  uncased. 
The  Continental  troops  and  seamen  were  to  be  allowed 
their  baggage,  but  were  to  remain  prisoners  of  war. 
The  officers  of  the  army  and  navy  were  to  retain  their 
servants,  swords  and  pistols,  and  their  baggage  un- 
searched ;  and  were  permitted  to  sell  their  horses ;  but 
not  to  remove  them  out  of  the  town.  The  citizens 
and  the  militia  were  to  be  considered  prisoners  on 
parole ;  the  latter  to  be  permitted  to  return  home,  and 
both  to  be  protected  in  person  and  property  as  long  as 
they  kept  their  parole.  Among  the  prisoners,  were 
the  lieutenant-governor  and  five  of  the  council. 

The  loss  of  the  British  in  the  siege  was  seventy-six 
killed  and  one  hundred  and  eighty -nine  wounded ; 
that  of  the  Americans  nearly  the  same.  The  prison- 
ers taken  by  the  enemy,  exclusive  of  the  sailors, 
amounted  to  five  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighteen 
men ,  comprising  every  male  adult  in  the  city  The 
Continental  troops  did  not  exceed  two  thousand,  five 
hundred  of  whom  were  in  the  hospital ;  the  rest  were 
citizens  and  militia. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  considered  the  fall  of  Charles- 
ton decisive  of  the  fate  of  South  Carolina.     To  com- 


56  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1T80. 

plete  the  subjugation  of  the  country,  he  planned  three 
expeditions  into  the  interior.  One,  under  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Brown,  was  to  move  up  the  Savannah  River  to 
Augusta,  on  the  borders  of  Georgia.  Another,  under 
Lieutenant-colonel  Cruger,  was  to  proceed  up  the  south- 
west side  of  the  Santee  River  to  the  district  of  Ninety 
Six,*  a  fertile  and  salubrious  region,  between  the  Savan- 
nah and  the  Saluda  rivers  ,  while  a  third,  under  Com- 
wallis,  was  to  cross  the  Santee,  march  up  the  northeast 
bank,  and  strike  at  a  corps  of  troops  under  Colonel 
Buford,  which  were  retreating  to  North  Carolina  with 
artillery  and  a  number  of  waggons,  laden  with  arms, 
ammunition  and  clothing. 

Colonel  Buford,  in  fact,  had  arrived  too  late  for 
the  rehef  of  Charleston,  and  was  now  making  a  retro- 
grade move  ;  he  had  come  on  with  three  hundred  and 
eighty  troops  of  the  Virginia  line,  and  two  field-pieces, 
and  had  been  joined  by  Colonel  Washington  with  a 
few  of  his  cavalry  that  had  sm-vived  the  surprisal  by 
Tarleton.  As  Buford  was  moving  with  celenty  and 
had  the  advantage  of  distance,  CornwaUis  detached 
Tarleton  m  pursuit  of  him,  with  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty dragoons,  a  hundred  mounted  infantry,  and  a 
three  pounder.  The  bold  partisan  pushed  forward 
with  his  usual  ardor  and  rapidity.  The  weather  was 
sultry,  many  of  his  horses  gave  out  through  fatigue 
and  heat ;  he  pressed  others  by  the  way,  leaving  behind 
such  of  his  troops  as  could  not  keep  pace  with  him. 
After  a  day  and  night  of  forced  march  he  arrived  about 
dawn  at  Rugeley's  Mills.     Buford,  he  was  told,  was 

*  So  called  in  early  times  from  being  ninety-six  miles  from  the  principal 
town  of  the  Cherokee  nation. 


1780.]  TARLETON    PURSUES    BUFORD.  57 

about  twenty  miles  in  advance  of  him,  pressing  on 
with  all  diligence  to  join  another  corps  of  Americans. 
Tarleton  continued  his  march ;  the  horses  of  the  three- 
pounder  were  knocked  up  and  unable  to  proceed ;  his 
wearied  troop  were  continually  dropping  in  the  rear 
Still  he  urged  forward,  anxious  to  overtake  Buford 
before  he  could  form  a  junction  with  the  force  he  was 
seeking.  To  detain  him  he  sent  forward  Captain  Km- 
lock  of  his  legion  with  a  flag,  and  the  following  letter : 

"  Sir, — ^Resistance  being  vain,  to  prevent  the  effusion 
of  blood,  I  make  offers  which  can  never  be  repeated. 
You  are  now  almost  encompassed  by  a  corps  of  seven 
hundred  light  troops  on  horseback ;  half  of  that  num- 
ber are  infantry  with  cannons.  Earl  Cornwallis  is  hke- 
wise  withm  reach  with  nine  British  regiments.  I  warn 
y«u  of  the  temerity  of  further  inimical  proceedings." 

He  concluded  by  offering  the  same  conditions 
granted  to  the  troops  at  Charleston  ;  "  if  you  are  rash 
enough  to  reject  them,"  added  he,  "  the  blood  be  upon 
your  head." 

Kinlock  overtook  Colonel  Buford  in  full  march  on 
the  banks  of  the  Waxhaw,  a  stream  on  the  border  of 
North  Carolina,  and  delivered  the  summons.  The  col- 
onel read  the  letter  without  coming  to  a  halt,  detained 
the  flag  for  some  time  in  conversation,  and  then  returned 
the  followmg  note : 

"  Sir, — I  reject  your  proposals,  and  shall  defend 
myself  to  the  last  extremity. 

"  I  have  the  honor,  &c." 

Tarleton,  who  had  never  ceased  to  press  forward, 


58  LIFE   or   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

came  upon  Buford's  rear-guard  about  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  captured  a  sergeant  and  four  dra- 
goons. Buford  had  not  expected  so  prompt  an  appear- 
ance of  the  enemy  He  hastily  drew  up  his  men  in 
order  of  battle,  in  an  open  wood,  on  the  right  of  the 
road.  His  artillery  and  waggons,  which  were  in  the 
advance  escorted  by  part  of  his  infantry,  were  ordered 
to  continue  on  their  march. 

There  appears  to  have  been  some  confusion  on  the 
part  of  the  Americans,  and  they  had  an  impetuous  foe 
to  deal  with.  Before  they  were  well  prepared  for 
action  they  were  attacked  in  front  and  on  both  flanks 
by  cavalry  and  mounted  infantry.  Tarleton,  who 
advanced  at  the  head  of  thirty  chosen  dragoons  and 
some  infantry,  states  that  when  within  fifty  paces  of 
the  Continental  infantry  they  presented,  but  he  heard 
their  officers  command  them  to  retain  their  fire  until 
the  British  cavalry  were  nearer.  It  was  not  until  the 
latter  were  within  ten  yards  that  there  was  a  partial 
discharge  of  musketry.  Several  of  the  dragoons  suf- 
fered by  this  fire.  Tarleton  himself  was  unhorsed, 
but  his  troopers  rode  on.  The  American  battalion 
was  broken ;  most  of  the  men  threw  down  their  arms 
and  begged  for  quarter,  but  were  cut  down  without 
mercy  One  hundred  and  thirteen  were  slain  on  the 
spot,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  so  mangled  and 
maimed  that  they  could  not  be  removed.  Colonel  Bu- 
ford and  a  few  of  the  cavalry  escaped,  as  did  about  a 
hundred  of  the  infantry,  who  were  with  the  baggage 
in  the  advance.  Fifty  prisoners  were  all  that  were  in 
a  condition  to  be  carried  off"  by  Tarleton  as  trophies  of 
this  butchery. 


1780.J  WAXHAW   MASSACRE.  59 

The  whole  British  loss  was  two  officers  and  three 
privates  killed,  and  one  officer  and  fourteen  privates 
wounded.  What  then  could  excuse  this  homble  car- 
nage of  an  almost  prostrate  enemy?  We  give  Tarle- 
ton's  own  excuse  for  it.  It  commenced,  he  says,  at  the 
time  he  was  dismounted  and  before  he  could  mount 
another  horse  ;  and  his  cavalry  were  exasperated  by  a 
report  that  he  was  slam.  Cornwalhs  apparently  ac- 
cepted this  excuse,  for  he  approved  of  his  conduct  m  the 
expedition,  and  recommended  him  as  worthy  of  some 
distinguished  mark  of  royal  favor  The  world  at  large, 
however,  have  not  been  so  easily  satisfied,  and  the  mas- 
sacre at  the  Waxhaw  has  remained  a  sanguinary  stain 
on  the  reputation  of  that  impetuous  soldier. 

The  two  other  detachments  which  had  been  sent 
out  by  Clinton,  met  with  nothing  but  submission. 
The  people  in  general,  considering  resistance  hopeless, 
accepted  the  proffered  protection,  and  conformed  to  its 
humiliating  terms.  One  class  of  the  population  in 
this  colony  seems  to  have  regarded  the  invaders  as  de- 
liverers. "  All  the  negroes,"  writes  Tarleton,  "  men, 
women  and  children,  upon  the  appearance  of  any 
detachment  of  king's  troops,  thought  themselves  ab- 
solved from  all  respect  to  their  American  masters,  and 
entirely  released  from  servitude.  They  qmtted  the 
plantations  and  followed  the  army  "  * 

Sir  Henry  now  persuaded  himself  that  South  Caro- 
lina was  subdued,  and  proceeded  to  station  garrisons 
in  various  parts,  to  maintain  it  in  subjection.  In  the 
fulness  of  his  confidence,  he  issued  a  proclamation  on 

*  Tarleton's  Hist,  of  Campaign,  p.  89. 


60  LIFE   or   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

the  3d  of  June,  discharging  all  the  mUitaiy  prisoners 
from  their  paroles  after  the  20th  of  the  month,  except- 
ing those  captured  in  Fort  Moultrie  and  Charleston. 
All  thus  released  from  their  parole  were  reinstated  in  the 
rights  and  duties  of  British  subjects ,  but,  at  the  same 
time,  they  were  bound  to  take  an  active  part  in  support 
of  the  government  hitherto  opposed  by  them.  Thus  the 
protection  afforded  them  while  prisoners  was  annulled 
by  an  arbitrary  fiat — ^neutrahty  was  at  an  end.  All 
were  to  be  ready  to  take  up  arms  at  a  moment's  notice. 
Those  who  had  families  were  to  form  a  mihtia  for  home 
defence.  Those  who  had  none,  were  to  serve  with  the 
royal  forces.  All  who  should  neglect  to  return  to 
their  allegiance  or  should  refuse  to  take  up  arms  against 
the  independence  of  their  country,  were  to  be  consid- 
ered as  rebels  and  treated  accordingly. 

Having  struck  a  blow,  which,  as  he  conceived,  was 
to  ensure  the  subjugation  of  the  South,  Sir  Heniy  em- 
barked for  New  York  on  the  5th  of  June,  with  a  part 
of  his  forces,  leaving  the  residue  under  the  command 
of  Lord  Comwallis,  who  was  to  cany  the  war  into 
North  Carolina,  and  thence  into  Virginia. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

KNTPHAUSEN  MARATJD3  THE  JEB3ET8 — SACKING  OF  CONNECTICUT  FABM8 
— ^MUBDER  OF  MBS.  CALDWELL — AEBIVAL  AND  MOTEMENTS  OF  SIB 
HENBT  CLINTON — SPEINGFIELD  BUENT — THE  JEBSETS  EVACUATED. 

A  HANDBILL  published  by  tlie  British  authorities  in 
New  York,  reached  Washington's  camp  on  the  1st  of 
June,  and  made  known  the  surrender  of  Charleston. 
A  person  from  Amboy  reported,  moreover,  that  on  the 
30th  of  May  he  had  seen  one  hundred  sail  of  vessels 
enter  Sandy  Hook.  These  might  bring  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  with  the  whole  or  part  of  his  force.  In  that 
case,  flushed  with  his  recent  success,  he  might  proceed 
immediately  up  the  Hudson,  and  make  an  attempt 
upon  West  Point,  in  the  present  distressed  condition 
of  the  garrison.  So  thinking,  Washington  wrote  to 
General  Howe,  who  commanded  that  important  post,  to 
put  him  on  his  guard,  and  took  measures  to  have  him 
furnished  with  supplies. 

The  report  concerning  the  fleet  proved  to  be  erro- 
neous, but  on  the  6th  of  June  came  a  new  alarm.  The 
enemy,  it  was  said,  were  actually  landing  in  force  at 
Elizabethtown  Point,  to  carry  fire  and  sword  into  the 
Jerseys ! 


62  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

It  was  even  so.  Knyphausen,  through  spies  and 
emissaries,  had  received  exaggerated  accounts  of  the  re- 
cent outbreak  in  Washington's  camp,  and  of  the  gen- 
eral discontent  among  the  people  of  New  Jersey ;  and 
was  persuaded  that  a  sudden  show  of  military  protec- 
tion, followmg  up  the  news  of  the  capture  of  Charles- 
ton, would  produce  a  general  desertion  among  Wash- 
ington's troops,  and  rally  back  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Jerseys  to  their  allegiance  to  the  crown. 

In  this  belief  he  projected  a  descent  into  the  Jer- 
seys with  about  five  thousand  men,  and  some  light  ar- 
tillery, who  M^ere  to  cross  in  divisions  in  the  night  of 
the  5th  of  June  from  Staten  Island  to  Elizabethtown 
Point. 

The  first  division  led  by  Brigadier-general  SterUng, 
actually  landed  before  dawn  of  the  6th,  and  advanced 
as  silently  as  possible.  The  heavy  and  measured  tramp 
of  the  troops,  however,  caught  the  ear  of  an  American 
sentinel  stationed  at  a  fork  where  the  roads  from  the 
old  and  new  point  joined.  He  challenged  the  dimly 
descridd  mass  as  it  approached,  and  receiving  no  an- 
swer, fired  into  it.  i  That  shot  wounded  General  Ster- 
hng  in  the  thigh,  and  ultimately  proved  mortal.  The 
wounded  general  was  carried  back,  and  Knyphausen 
took  his  place. 

This  delayed  the  march  until  sunrise,  and  gave  time 
for  the  troops  of  the  Jersey  line,  under  Colonel  Ehas 
Dayton,  stationed  in  Ehzabethtown,  to  assemble.  They 
were  too  weak  in  numbers,  however,  to  withstand  the 
enemy,  but  retreated  in  good  order,  skirmishing  occa- 
sionally. The  invading  force  passed  through  the  vil- 
lage ;  in  the  advance,  a  squadron  of  dragoons  of  Sim- 


1780.]  SACKING   OF    CONNECTICUT   FARMS.  63 

coe's  regiment  of  Queen's  Rangers,  with  drawn  swords 
and  glittering  helmets ;  followed  by  British  and  Hes- 
sian infantry.* 

Signal  guns  and  signal  fires  were  rousing  the  coun- 
try The  militia  and  yeomanry  anned  themselves  with 
such  weapons  as  were  at  hand,  and  hastened  to  their 
alarm  posts.  The  enemy  took  the  old  road,  by  what 
was  called  Galloping  Hill,  toward  the  village  of  Con- 
necticut Tarms;  fired  upon  from  behind  walls  and 
thickets  by  the  hasty  levies  of  the  country. 

At  Connecticut  Farms,  the  retreating  troops  under 
Dayton  fell  in  with  the  Jersey  brigade,  under  General 
Maxwell,  and  a  few  militia  joining  them,  the  Americans 
were  enabled  to  make  some  stand,  and  even  to  hold  the 
enemy  in  check.  The  latter,  however,  brought  up  sev- 
eral field-pieces,  and  being  reinforced  by  a  second  divi- 
sion which  had  crossed  from  Staten  Island  some  time 
after  the  first,  compelled  the  Americans  again  to  re- 
treat. Some  of  the  enemy,  exasperated  at  the  unex- 
pected opposition  they  had  met  with  throughout  their 
march,  and  pretending  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  vil- 
lage had  fired  upon  them  from  their  windows,  began  to 
pillage  and  set  fire  to  the  houses.  It  so  happened  that 
to  this  village  the  reverend  James  Caldwell,  "  the  rous- 
ing gospel  preacher,"  had  removed  his  family  as  to  a 
place  of  safety,  after  his  church  at  Elizabethtown  had 
been  burnt  down  by  the  British  in  January.  On  the 
present  occasion  he  had  retreated  with  the  regiment  to 
which  he  was  chaplain.  His  wife,  however,  remained 
at  the  parsonage  with  her  two  youngest  children,  con- 

*  Pusages  in  the  Hist,  of  EHlzabethtown,  Capt.  W.  C.  De  Hart. 


64  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780 

fiding  in  the  protection  of  Providence,  and  the  human- 
ity of  the  enemy. 

When  the  sacking  of  the  village  took  place,  she  re- 
tu-ed  with  her  children  mto  a  back  room  of  the  house. 
Her  infant  of  eight  months  was  in  the  arms  of  an  attend- 
ant i  she  herself  was  seated  on  the  side  of  a  bed  hold- 
mg  a  child  of  three  years  by  the  hand,  and  was  engaged 
in  prayer.  All  was  terror  and  confusion  in  the  village ; 
when  suddenly  a  musket  was  discharged  in  at  the  win- 
dow. Two  balls  struck  her  in  the  breast  and  she  fell 
dead  on  the  floor.  The  parsonage  and  church  were  set 
on  fire,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  her  body  was  rescued 
from  the  flames. 

In  the  mean  time  Knyphausen  was  pressing  on  with 
his  main  force  towards  Morristown.  The  boommg  of 
alarm  guns  had  roused  the  country ;  every  valley  was 
pouring  out  its  yeomanry.  Two  thousand  were  said  to 
be  already  in  arms  below  the  mountains. 

Withm  half  a  mile  of  Springfield  Knyphausen  halted 
to  reconnoitre.  That  village,  through  which  passes  the 
road  to  Springfield,  had  been  made  the  Amencan  ral- 
lying point.  It  stands  at  the  foot  of  what  are  called 
the  Short  HiUs,  on  the  west  side  of  Rahway  River,  which 
runs  in  front  of  it.  On  the  bank  of  the  river,  General 
Maxwell's  Jersey  brigade  and  the  militia  of  the  neigh- 
borhood were  drawn  up  to  dispute  the  passage ;  and 
on  the  Short  HiUs  in  the  rear  was  Washington  with  the 
main  body  of  his  forces,  not  mutinous  and  in  confusion, 
but  all  in  good  order,  strongly  posted,  and  ready  for  ac- 
tion. 

Washington  had  arrived  and  taken  his  position  that 
afternoon,  prepared  to  withstand  an  encounter,  though 


1780.]  RETREAT   OF   KNYPHAUSEN.  65 

not  to  seek  one.  All  night  his  camp  fires  lighted  up 
the  Short  Hills,  and  he  remained  on  the  alert  expecting 
to  be  assailed  in  the  morning ,  but  in  the  morning  no 
enemy  was  to  be  seen. 

Knyphausen  had  experienced  enough  to  convince 
him  that  he  had  been  completely  misinformed  as  to  the 
disposition  of  the  Jersey  people  and  of  the  army.  Dis- 
appointed as  to  the  main  objects  of  his  enterprise,  he 
had  retreated  under  cover  of  the  night,  to  the  place  of 
his  debarkation,  intending  to  recross  to  Staten  Island 
immediately. 

In  the  camp  at  the  Short  Hills  was  the  reverend 
James  Caldwell,  whose  home  had  been  laid  desolate. 
He  was  still  ignorant  of  the  event,  but  had  passed  a 
night  of  great  anxiety,  and,  procuring  the  protection  of 
a  flag,  hastened  back  in  the  morning  to  Connecticut 
Farms.  He  found  the  village  in  ashes,  and  his  Avife  a 
mangled  corpse ! 

In  the  course  of  the  day  Washington  received  a  let- 
ter from  Colonel  Alexander  Hamilton,  who  was  recon- 
noitring in  the  neighborhood  of  Ehzabethtown  Point. 
"  I  have  seen  the  enemy,"  writes  he.  "  Those  in  view 
I  calculate  at  about  three  thousand.  There  may  be^ 
and  probably  are,  enough  others  out  of  sight.  They 
have  sent  all  their  horses  to  the  other  side  except  about 
fifty  or  sixty.  Their  baggage  has  also  been  sent  across, 
and  their  wounded.  It  is  not  ascertained  that  any  of 
their  infantry  have  passed  on  the  other  side.  *  *  * 
The  present  movement  may  be  calculated  to  draw  us 
down  and  betray  us  into  an  action.  They  may  have  de- 
sisted from  their  intention  of  passing  tiU  night,  for  fear 
of  our  falling  upon  their  rear." 

VOL.  IV. — 5 


66  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

As  Washington  was  ignorant  of  the  misinformation 
tvhich  had  beguiled  Knyphausen  into  this  enterprise, 
the  movements  of  that  general,  his  sudden  advance, 
and  as  sudden  retreat,  were  equally  inexplicable.  At 
one  tune,  he  supposed  his  inroad  to  be  a  mere  foraging 
incursion  ;  then,  as  Hamilton  had  suggested,  a  device  to 
draw  him  down  from  his  stronghold  into  the  plain,  where 
the  superiority  of  the  British  force  would  give  them  the 
advantage. 

Knyphausen  in  fact  had  been  impeded  in  crossing 
his  troops  to  Staten  Island,  by  the  low  tide  and  deep 
muddy  shore,  which  rendered  it  difficult  to  embark  the 
cavalry ;  and  by  a  destructive  fire  kept  up  by  militia 
posted  along  the  river  banks,  and  the  adjacent  woods. 
In  the  mean  while  he  had  time  to  reflect  on  the  ridi- 
cule that  would  await  him  in  New  York,  should  his  ex- 
pedition prove  fruitless,  and  end  in  what  might  appear 
a  precipitate  flight.  This  produced  indecision  of  mind, 
and  induced  him  to  recall  the  troops  which  had  already 
crossed,  and  which  were  necessary,  he  said,  to  protect 
his  rear. 

For  several  days  he  lingered  with  his  troops  at  Eliz- 
abethto^vn  and  the  Point  beyond ;  obliging  Washington 
to  exercise  unremitting  vigilance  for  the  safety  of  the 
Jerseys  and  of  the  Hudson.  It  was  a  great  satisfaction 
to  the  latter  to  be  joined  by  Major  Henry  Lee,  who 
with  his  troop  of  horse  had  hastened  on  from  the  vi- 
cinity of  Philadelphia,  where  he  had  recently  been  sta- 
tioned. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  tragical  fate  of  Mrs.  Caldwell 
produced  almost  as  much  excitement  throughout  the 
country  as  that  which  had  been  caused  in  a  preceding 


1Y80.]  ARRIVAL    OF    SIR   H.    CLINTON.  67 

year,  by  the  massacre  of  Miss  McCrea.  She  was  con- 
nected with  some  of  the  first  people  of  New  Jersey ; 
was  wmnmg  in  person  and  character,  and  universally 
beloved.  Knyphausen  was  vehemently  assailed  in  the 
American  papers,  as  if  responsible  for  this  atrocious 
act.  The  enemy,  however,  attributed  her  death  to  a 
random  shot,  discharged  in  a  time  of  confusion,  or  to 
the  vengeance  of  a  menial  who  had  a  deadly  pique 
against  her  husband ;  but  the  popular  voice  persisted 
in  execrating  it  as  the  wilful  and  wanton  act  of  a 
British  soldier 

On  the  17th  of  June  the  fleet  from  the  South  ac- 
tually arrived  in  the  bay  of  New  York,  and  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  landed  his  troops  on  Staten  Island,  but  almost 
immediately  re-embarked  them,  as  if  meditating  an 
expedition  up  the  river. 

Fearing  for  the  safety  of  West  Point,  Washington 
set  off  on  the  21st  June,  with  the  main  body  of  his 
troops,  towards  Pompton ,  while  General  Greene,  with 
Maxwell  and  Stark's  brigades,  Lee's  dragoons  and  the 
militia  of  the  neighborhood,  remained  encamped  on 
the  Short  Hills,  to  cover  the  country  and  protect  the 
stores  at  Morristown. 

Washington's  movements  were  slow  and  wary, 
unwilling  to  be  far  from  Greene  until  better  informed 
of  the  designs  of  the  enemy.  At  Rockaway  Bridge, 
about  eleven  miles  beyond  Morristown,  he  received 
word  on  the  23d,  that  the  enemy  were  advancing  from 
Elizabethtown  against  Springfield.  Supposing  the  mili- 
tary  depot  at  Morristown  to  be  their  ultimate  object, 
he  detached  a  brigade  to  the  assistance  of  Greene, 


68  LIFE   OF    WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

and  fell  back  five  or  six  miles,  so  as  to  be  in  supporting 
distance  of  him. 

The  re-embarkation  of  the  troops  at  Staten  Island, 
had,  in  fact,  been  a  stratagem  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  to 
divert  the  attention  of  Waslnngton,  and  enable  Knyp- 
hausen  to  carry  out  the  enterprise  vrhich  had  hitherto 
hung  fire.  No  sooner  did  the  latter  ascertam  that  the 
American  commander-in-chief  had  moved  off  vrith  his 
main  force  towards  the  Highlands,  than  he  sallied  from 
Elizabethtown  five  thousand  strong,  with  a  large  body 
of  cavalry,  and  fifteen  or  twenty  pieces  of  artillery; 
hoping  not  merely  to  destroy  the  public  stores  at  Mor- 
ristown,  but  to  get  possession  of  those  difficult  hills 
and  defiles,  among  which  Washington's  army  had  been 
so  securely  posted,  and  which  constituted  the  strength 
of  that  part  of  the  country. 

It  was  early  on  the  morning  of  the  23d  that  Knyp- 
hausen  pushed  forward  toward  Springfield.  Beside  the 
main  road  which  passes  directly  through  the  village 
toward  Morristown,  there  is  another,  north  of  it,  called 
the  Vauxhall  road,  crossing  several  small  streams,  the 
confluence  of  which  forms  the  Rahway.  These  two 
roads  unite  beyond  the  village  m  the  principal  pass  of 
the  Short  Hills.  The  enemy's  troops  advanced  rapidly 
in  two  compact  columns,  the  right  one  by  the  Vauxhall 
road,  the  other,  by  the  main  or  direct  road.  General 
Greene  was  stationed  among  the  Short  Hills,  about  a 
mile  above  the  town.  His  troops  were  distributed  at 
various  posts,  for  there  were  many  passes  to  guard. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  signal-guns  gave 
notice  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  The  drums  beat 
to  arms  throughout  the  camp.    The  troops  were  hastily 


1780.]  FIGHT   AT   SPRINGFIELD.  69 

called  in  from  their  posts  among  the  momitain  passes, 
and  preparations  were  made  to  defend  the  village. 

Major  Lee,  with  his  dragoons  and  a  picket-guard, 
was  posted  on  the  Vauxhall  road,  to  check  the  right 
column  of  the  enemy  in  its  advance.  Colonel  Dayton 
with  his  regiment  of  New  Jersey  militia,  was  to  check 
the  left  column  on  the  mam  road.  Colonel  Angel  of 
Rhode  Island,  with  about  two  hundred  picked  men, 
and  a  piece  of  artillery,  was  to  defend  a  bridge  over 
the  Rah  way,  a  little  west  of  the  town.  Colonel  Shreve, 
stationed  with  his  regiment  at  a  second  bridge  over  a 
branch  of  the  Rahway  east  of  the  town,  was  to  cover, 
if  necessary,  the  retreat  of  Colonel  Angel.  Those 
parts  of  Maxwell  and  Stark's  brigades  which  were  not 
thus  detached,  were  drawn  up  on  high  grounds  in  the 
rear  of  the  to^vn,  having  the  militia  on  their  flanks. 

There  was  some  sharp  fighting  at  a  bridge  on  the 
Vauxhall  road,  where  Major  Lee  with  his  dragoons 
and  picket-guard  held  the  right  column  at  bay ;  a  part 
of  the  column,  however,  forded  the  stream  above  the 
bridge,  gained  a  commanding  position,  and  obhged 
Lee  to  retire. 

The  left  column  met  with  similar  opposition  from 
Dayton  and  his  Jersey  regiment.  None,  showed  more 
ardor  in  the  fight  than  Caldwell  the  chaplain.  The 
image  of  his  murdered  wife  was  before  his  eyes.  Find- 
ding  the  men  in  want  of  wadding,  he  galloped  to  the 
Presbyterian  church  and  brought  thence  a  quantity  of 
Watts's  psalm  and  hymn  books,  which  he  distributed 
for  the  purpose  among  the  soldiers.  "  Now,"  cried  he, 
"  put  Watts  into  them,  boys !  " 

The  severest  fighting  of  the  day  was  at  the  bridge 


70  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

over  the  Railway.  For  upwards  of  half  an  hour  Col- 
onel Angel  defended  it  with  his  handful  of  men  against 
a  vastly  superior  force.  One  fourth  of  his  men  were 
either  killed  or  disabled :  the  loss  of  the  enemy  was  still 
more  severe.  Angel  was  at  length  compelled  to  retire. 
He  did  so  in  good  order,  carrying  off  his  wounded  and 
making  his  way  through  the  village  to  the  hridge 
beyond  it.  Here  his  retreat  was  bravely  covered  by 
Colonel  Shreve,  but  he  too  was  obliged  to  give  way 
before  the  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy,  and  join 
the  brigades  of  Maxwell  and  Stark  upon  the  hill. 

General  Greene,  finding  his  front  too  much  ex- 
tended for  his  small  force,  and  that  he  was  in  danger 
of  being  outflanked  on  the  left  by  the  column  pressing 
forward  on  the  Vauxhall  road,  took  post  with  his  main 
body  on  the  first  range  of  hills,  where  the  roads  were 
brought  near  to  a  point,  and  passed  between  him  and 
the  height  occupied  by  Stark  and  Maxwell.  He  then 
threw  out  a  detachment  which  checked  the  further 
advance  of  the  right  column  of  the  enemy  along  the 
Vauxhall  road,  and  secm'ed  that  pass  through  the  Short 
HiUs.  Feeling  himself  now  strongly  posted,  he  awaited 
with  confidence  the  expected  attempt  of  the  enemy  to 
gain  the  height.  No  such  attempt  was  made.  The 
resistance  already  experienced,  especially  at  the  bridge, 
and  the  sight  of  militia  gathering  from  various  points, 
dampened  the  ardor  of  the  hostile  commander.  He 
saw  that,  should  he  persist  in  pushing  for  Morristown, 
he  would  have  to  fight  his  way  through  a  country 
abounding  with  difficult  passes,  every  one  of  which  would 
be  obstinately  disputed ;  and  that  the  enterprise,  even 
if  successful,  might  cost  too  much,  beside  taking  him 


1780.]  THE   JERSEYS    EVACUATED.  71 

too  far  from  New  York,  at  a  time  when  a  Frencli  arma- 
ment might  be  expected. 

Before  the  brigade  detached  by  Washington  arrived 
at  the  scene  of  action,  therefore,  the  enemy  had  re- 
treated. Previous  to  their  retreat  they  wreaked  upon 
Springfield  the  same  vengeance  they  had  inflicted  on 
Connecticut  Farms.  The  whole  village,  excepting  four 
houses,  was  reduced  to  ashes.  Their  second  retreat 
was  equally  ignoble  with  their  first.  They  were  pur- 
sued and  harassed  the  whole  way  to  EUzabethtown  by 
light  scoutmg  parties  and  by  the  militia  and  yeomanry 
of  the  country,  exasperated  by  the  sight  of  the  burn- 
ing village.  Lee,  too,  came  upon  their  rear-guard 
with  his  dragoons  ;  captured  a  quantity  of  stores  aban- 
doned by  them  in  the  hurry  of  retreat,  and  made  pris- 
oners of  several  refugees. 

It  was  sunset  when  the  enemy  reached  Elizabeth- 
town.  During  the  night  they  passed  over  to  Staten 
Island  by  their  bridge  of  boats.  By  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning  all  had  crossed,  and  the  bridge  had  been 
removed — and  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  so  long  harassed 
by  the  campaignings  of  either  army,  was  finally  evacu- 
ated by  the  enemy  It  had  proved  a  school  of  war  to 
the  American  troops.  The  incessant  marchings  and 
counter-marchings ;  the  rude  encampments ;  the  expo- 
sures to  all  kinds  of  hardship  and  privation ;  the 
alarms ;  the  stratagems ;  the  rough  encounters  and 
adventurous  enterprises  of  which  this  had  been  the 
theatre  for  the  last  tlnree  or  four  years,  had  rendered 
the  patriot  soldier  hardy,  adroit,  and  long-suffering ;  had 
accustomed  him  to  danger,  inured  him  to  discipline,  and 
brought  him  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  European  mer- 


72  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

cenary  in  the  habitudes  and  usages  of  arms,  while  he 
had  the  superior  incitements  of  home,  country,  and 
independence.  The  ravaging  incursions  of  the  enemy 
had  exasperated  the  most  peace-loving  parts  of  the 
country ;  made  soldiers  of  the  husbandmen,  acquainted 
them  with  their  own  powers,  and  taught  them  that  the 
foe  was  vulnerable.  The  recent  ineffectual  attempts  of 
a  veteran  general  to  penetrate  the  fastnesses  of  Morris- 
town,  though  at  the  head  of  a  veteran  force,  "  which 
would  once  have  been  deemed  capable  of  sweepmg  the 
whole  continent  before  it,"  was  a  lasting  theme  of  tri- 
umph to  the  inhabitants ;  and  it  is  still  the  honest 
boast  among  the  people  of  Morris  County,  that  "  the 
enemy  never  were  able  to  get  a  footing  among  our 
hills."  At  the  same  time  the  conflagration  of  villages 
by  which  they  sought  to  cover  or  revenge  their  repeated 
failures,  and  their  precipitate  retreat,  harassed  and 
insulted  by  half-disciplined  militia,  and  a  crude,  rustic 
levy,  formed  an  ignoniinious  close  to  the  British  cam- 
paigns in  the  Jerseys. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

WASHINGTON^  APPLIES  TO  THE  STATE  iEGISLATUBES  FOB  AID — SUBSCEIP- 
TIOXS  OP  THE  LADIES  OF  PHILADELPHIA — GATES  APPOINTED  TO  COM- 
MAND THE  SOUTHERN  DEPARTMENT — FRENCH  FLEET  ARRIVES  AT  NEW- 
POET — PREPARATION  FOK  A  COMBINED  MOVEMENT  AGAINST  NEW 
TORE — ARNOLD  OBTAINS  COMMAND  AT  WEST  POINT — GREENE  RESIGNS 
THE  OFFICE  OF  QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL. 

Apprehensive  that  the  next  move  of  the  enemy  would 
be  up  the  Hudson,  Washington  resumed  his  measures 
for  the  security  of  West  Point ;  movmg  towards  the 
Highlands  in  the. latter  part  of  June.  Circumstances 
soon  convmced  him  that  the  enemy  had  no  present  in- 
tention of  attacking  that  fortress,  but  merely  menaced 
him  at  various  points,  to  retard  his  operations,  and 
oblige  him  to  call  out  the  militia ;  thereby  interrupting 
agriculture,  distressing  the  country,  and  rendering  his 
cause  unpopular.  Having,  therefore,  caused  the  mili- 
tary stores  in  the  Jerseys  to  be  removed  to  more  remote 
and  secure  places ;  he  countermanded  by  letter  the  mi- 
litia, which  were  marching  to  camp  from  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts. 

He  now  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  procure 
from  the  different  State  Legislatures,  their  quotas  and 
suppUes  for  the  regular  army.     "  The  sparing  system/' 


74  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

said  he,  "has  been  tried  until  it  has  brought  us  to  a  cri- 
sis little  less  than  desperate."  This  was  the  time,  by 
one  great  exertion,  to  put  an  end  to  the  war.  The 
basis  of  every  thing  was  the  completion  of  the  Conti- 
nental battalions  to  their  full  establishment,  otherwise, 
nothmg  decisive  could  be  attempted,  and  this  campaign, 
like  all  the  former,  must  be  chiefly  defensive.  He  warned 
against  those  "  indolent  and  narrow  politicians,  who, 
except  at  the  moment  of  some  signal  misfortune,  are 
continually  crymg  all  is  well,  and  who  to  save  a  little 
present  expense,  and  avoid  some  temporaiy  inconve- 
nience, with  no  ill  designs  in  the  main,  would  protract 
the  war,  and  risk  the  perdition  of  our  liberties."  * 

The  desired  relief,  however,  had  to  be  effected 
through  the  ramifications  of  General  and  State  govern- 
ments, and  their  committees.  The  operations  were 
tardy  and  unproductive.^  Liberal  contributions  were 
made  by  individuals,  a  bank  was  estabhshed  by  the  in- 
habitants of  Philadelphia  to  facilitate  the  supphes  of  the 
army,  and  an  association  of  ladies  of  that  city  raised  by 
subscription  between  seven  and  eight  thousand  dollars, 
which  were  put  at  the  disposition  of  Washington,  to  be 
laid  out  in  such  a  manner  as  be  might  think  "most 
honorable  and  gratifying  to  the  brave  old  soldiers  who 
had  borne  so  great  a  share  of  the  burden  of  the  war." 

The  capture  of  General  Lincoln  at  Charleston,  had 
left  the  Southern  department  without  a  commander-in- 
chief.  As  there  were  hkely  to  be  important  mihtary 
operations  in  that  quarter,  Washington  had  intended  to 
recommend  General  Greene  for  the  appointment.     He 

*  Letter  to  Got.  TmmbnlL    Sparks,  vii.  93. 


1780.]  ARRIVAL   OF   FRENCH   FORCES.  75 

was  an  officer  on  whose  abilities,  discretion,  and  disin- 
terested patriotism  he  had  the  fullest  rehance,  and  whom 
he  had  always  found  thoroughly  disposed  to  act  in  uni- 
son with  him  m  his  general  plan  of  carrying  on  the 
war.  Congress,  however,  with  unbecoming  precipitan- 
cy, gave  that  important  command  to  General  Gates 
(June  13th),  without  waiting  to  consult  Washington's 
views  or  wishes. 

Gates,  at  the  time,  was  on  his  estate  in  Virginia, 
and  accepted  the  appointment  with  avidity,  anticipating 
new  triumphs.  His  old  associate  General  Lee,  gave 
him  an  ominous  caution  at  parting.  "  Beware  that  your 
Northern  laurels  do  not  change  to  Southern  willows  !  " 

On  the  10th  of  July  a  French  fleet,  under  the 
Chevaher  de  Ternay,  arnved  at  Newport,  in  Rhode 
Island.  It  was  composed  of  seven  ships  of  the  hne,  two 
frigates  and  two  bombs,  and  convoyed  transports  on 
board  of  which  were  upwards  of  five  thousand  troops. 
This  was  the  first  division  of  the  forces  promised  by 
France,  of  which  Lafayette  had  spoken.  The  second 
division  had  been  detained  at  Brest  for  want  of  trans- 
ports,' but  might  soon  be  expected. 

The  Count  de  Rochambeau,  Lieutenant-general  of 
the  royal  armies,  was  commander-in-chief  of  this  aux- 
ihary  force.  He  was  a  veteran,  fifty -five  years  of  age, 
who  had  early  distinguished  himself,  when  colonel  of 
the  regiment  of  Auvergne,  and  had  gained  laurels  in  va- 
rious battles,  especially  that  of  Kloster  camp,  of  which 
he  decided  the  success.  Since  then,  he  had  risen  j&*om 
one  post  of  honor  to  another,  until  entrusted  with  his 
present  important  command.* 

*  Jean  Baptiste  Donation  de  Vimeur,  Comte  de  Rochambeau,  was  born  at 
Vendome,  in  France,  1725. 


76  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

Another  officer  of  rank  and  distinction  in  this  force, 
was  Major-general  the  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  a  friend 
and  relative  of  Lafayette,  but  much  his  senior,  being 
now  forty-six  years  of  age.  He  was  not  only  a  soldier 
but  a  man  of  letters,  and  one  famihar  with  courts  a 
well  as  camps. 

Count  Rochambeau's  first  despatch  to  Vergennes,the 
French  minister  of  State  (July  16th),  gave  a  discourag- 
ing picture  of  affairs.  "  Upon  my  arrival  here,"  writes 
he,  **  the  country  was  m  consternation,  the  paper  money 
had  fallen  to  sixty  for  one,  and  even  the  government 
takes  it  up  at  forty  for  one.  .Washington  had  for  a  long 
time  only  three  thousand  men  under  his  command. 
The  arrival  of  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  and  the  an- 
nouncement of  succors  from  France,  afforded  some  en- 
couragement ;  but  the  tones,  who  are  very  numerous, 
gave  out  that  it  was  only  a  temporary  assistance,  hke 
that  of  Count  d'Estaing.  In  describing  to  you  our  re- 
ception at  this  place,  we  shall  show  you  the  feeling  of 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  continent.  This  town  is  of 
considerable  size,  and  contains,  like  the  rest,  both  whigs 
and  tories.  I  landed  with  my  staff,  without  troops ; 
nobody  appeared  in  the  streets ,  those  at  the  windows 
looked  sad  and  depressed.  I  spoke  to  the  principal 
persons  of  the  place,  and  told  them,  as  I  vrrote  to  Gen- 
eral Washington,  that  this  was  merely  the  advanced 
guard  of  a  greater  force,  and  that  the  king  was  deter- 
mined to  support  them  with  his  whole  power.  In  twen- 
ty-four hours  their  spirits  rose,  and  last  night  all  the 
streets,  houses,  and  steeples  were  illuminated,  in  the 
midst  of  fireworks,  and  the  greatest  rejoicings.  I  am 
now  here  with  a  single  company  of  grenadiers,  until 


1Y80.]  TRENCH    CAMP   AT   NEWPORT.  77 

wood  and  straw  shall  have  been  collected ;  my  camp  is 
marked  out,  and  I  hope  to  have  the  troops  landed  to- 
morrow." 

Still,  however,  there  appears  to  have  been  almgering 
feelmg  of  disappointment  m  the  public  bosom.  "  The 
wliigs  are  pleased,"  writes  de  Rochambeau,  "  but  they 
say  that  the  kmg  ought  to  have  sent  twenty  thou- 
sand men,  and  twenty  ships,  to  drive  the  enemy  from 
New  York ;  that  the  country  was  infallibly  ruined ;  that 
it  is  impossible  to  find  a  recruit  to  send  to  General 
Washington's  army,  without  giving  him  one  hundred 
hard  dollars  to  engage  for  six  months'  service,  and  they 
beseech  his  majesty  to  assist  them  with  all  his  strength. 
The  war  will  be  an  expensive  one ;  we  pay  even  for  our 
quarters,  and  for  the  land  covered  with  the  camp."'' 

The  troops  were  landed  to  the  east  of  the  town ; 
theii'  encampment  was  on  a  fine  situation,  and  extended 
nearly  across  the  island.  Much  was  said  of  their  gal- 
lant and  martial  appearance.  There  was  the  noted  re- 
giment of  Auvergne,  in  command  of  which  the  Count 
de  Rochambeau  had  first  gained  his  laurels,  but  which 
was  now  commanded  by  his  son  the  viscount,  thirty  years 
of  age.  A  legion  of  six  hundi'cd  men  also  was  espe- 
cially admired ;  it  was  commanded  by  the  Duke  de 
Lauzun  (Lauzun-Biron) ;  who  had  gained  reputation  m 
the  preceding  year  by  the  capture  of  Senegal.  A  feel- 
ing of  adventure  and  romance,  associated  with  the 
American  struggle,  had  caused  many  of  the  young  no- 
bility to  seek  this  new  field  of  achievement,  who  to  use 
de  Rochambeau's  words,  "  brought  out  with  them  the 

*  Sparks.     Writings  of  Washington,  vii.  504. 


78  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

heroic  and  chivalrous  courage  of  the  ancient  French 
nobility."  To  their  credit  be  it  spoken  also,  they 
brought  with  them  the  ancient  French  politeness,  for  it 
was  remarkable  how  soon  they  accommodated  them- 
selves to  circumstances,  made  Hght  of  all  the  privations 
and  inconveniences  of  a  new  country,  and  conformed  to 
the  familiar  simplicity  of  repubUcan  manners.  General 
Heath,  who,  by  Washington's  orders,  was  there  to  offer 
his  services,  was,  by  his  own  account,  "  charmed  with 
the  officers,"  who,  on  their  part,  he  said,  expreissed  the 
highest  satisfaction  with  the  treatment  they  received. 

The  instructions  of  the  French  ministry  to  the 
Count  de  Rochambeau  placed  him  entirely  under  the 
command  of  General  Washington.  The  French  troops 
were  to  be  considered  as  auxiliaries,  and  as  such  were 
to  take  the  left  of  the  American  troops,  and,  in  all 
cases  of  ceremony,  to  yield  them  the  preference.  This 
considerate  arrangement  had  been  adopted  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  and  was  intended 
to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  those  questions  of  rank 
and  etiquette  which  had  heretofore  disturbed  the  com- 
bined service. 

Washington,  in  general  orders,  congratulated  the 
army  on  the  arrival  of  this  timely  and  generous  succor, 
which  he  hailed  as  a  new  tie  between  France  and 
America ,  anticipating  that  the  only  contention  between 
the  two  armies  would  be  to  excel  each  other  in  good 
offices,  and  in  the  display  of  every  military  virtue. 
The  American  cockade  had  hitherto  been  black,  that 
of  the  French  was  white ;  he  recommended  to  his  offi- 
cers a  cockade  of  black  and  white  intermingled  in  com- 


1780.]  PROPOSED    ATTACK   ON    NEW   YORK.  79 

pliment  to  their  allies,  and  as  a  symbol  of  friendship 
and  union. 

His  joy  at  this  important  reinforcement  was  dashed 
by  the  mortifying  reflection,  that  he  was  still  unprovided 
with  the  troops  and  military  means  requisite  for  the 
combined  operations  meditated.  Still  he  took  upon 
himself  the  responsibility  of  immediate  action,  and 
forthwith  despatched  Lafayette  to  have  an  interview 
with  the  French  commanders,  explain  the  circumstances 
of  the  case,  and  concert  plans  for  the  proposed  attack 
upon  New  York. 

"  Pressed  on  all  sides  by  a  choice  of  difficulties," 
writes  he  to  the  President,  "  I  have  adopted  that  line 
of  conduct  which  suited  the  dignity  and  faith  of  Con- 
gress, the  reputation  of  these  States,  and  the  honor  of 
our  arms.  Neither  the  season  nor  a  regard  to  decency 
would  permit  delay.  The  die  is  cast,  and  it  remains 
with  the  States  either  to  fulfil  their  engagements,  pre- 
serve their  credit  and  support  their  independence,  or 
to  involve  us  in  disgrace  and  defeat.  ***** 
*  I  shall  proceed  on  the  supposition  that  they  ^viU 
ultimately  consult  their  own  interest  and  honor,  and 
not  suffer  us  to  fail  for  want  of  means,  which  it  is  evi- 
dently in  their  power  to  afford.  What  has  been  done, 
.and  is  doing,  by  some  of  the  States,  confirms  the  opin- 
ion I  have  entertained  of  the  sufficient  resources  of  the 
country.  As  to  the  disposition  of  the  people  to  submit 
to  any  arrangements  for  bringing  them  forth,  I  see  no 
reasonable  grounds  to  doubt.  If  we  fail  for  want  of 
proper  exertions  in  any  of  the  governments,  I  trust  the 
responsibihty  wiU  fall  where  it  ought,  and  that  I  shall 


80  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

stand  justified  to  Congress,  to  my  country,  and  to  the 
world." 

The  arrival,  however,  of  the  British  Admiral  Graves 
at  New  York,  on  the  13th  of  July,  with  six  ships-of- 
the-line,  gave  the  enemy  such  a  superiority  of  naval 
force,  that  the  design  on  New  York  was  postponed 
until  the  second  French  division  should  make  its  ap- 
pearance, or  a  squadron  under  the  Count  de  Guichen, 
which  was  expected  from  the  West  Indies. 

In  the  mean  time,  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  had  in- 
formation of  all  the  plans  and  movements  of  the  allies, 
determined  to  forestall  the  meditated  attack  upon  New 
York,  by  beating  up  the  French  quarters  on  Rhode 
Island.  This  he  was  to  do  in  person  at  the  head  of  six 
thousand  men,  aided  by  Admiral  Arbuthnot  with  his 
fleet.  Sir  Henry  accordingly  proceeded  with  his  troops 
to  Throg's  Neck  on  the  Sound ,  there  to  embark  on 
board  of  transports  which  Arbuthnot  was  to  provide. 
No  sooner  did  Washington  learn  that  so  large  a  force 
had  left  New  York,  than  he  crossed  the  Hudson  to 
Peekskill,  and  prepared  to  move  towards  King's  Bridge 
with  the  main  body  of  his  troops,  which  had  recently 
been  reinforced.  His  intention  was,  either  to  oblige 
Sir  Henry  to  abandon  his  project  against  Rhode  Island, 
or  to  strike  a  blow  at  New  York  during  his  absence. 
As  Washington  was  on  horseback,  observing  the  crossing 
of  the  last  division  of  his  troops.  General  Arnold  ap- 
proached, having  just  arrived  in  the  camp.  Arnold  had 
been  manoeuvring  of  late  to  get  the  command  of  West 
Point,  and,  among  other  means,  had  induced  Mr. 
Robert  R.  Livingston,  then  a  New  York  member  of 
Congress,  to  suggest  it  in  a  letter  to  Washington  as  a 


1780.]    ARNOLD    SEEKS    COMMAND    OF   WEST   POINT.      81 

measure  of  great  expediency.  Arnold  now  accosted 
the  latter  to  know  whether  any  place  had  been  assigned 
to  him.  He  was  told,  that  he  was  to  command  the  left 
wmg,  and  Washington  added  that  they  would  have  fur- 
ther conversation  on  the  subject  when  he  returned  to 
head-quarters.  The  silence  and  evident  chagrin  with 
which  the  reply  was  received  surprised  Washington, 
and  he  was  still  more  surprised  when  he  subsequently 
learned  that  Arnold  was  more  desirous  of  a  garrison 
post  than  of  a  command  in  the  field,  although  a  post 
of  honor  had  been  assigned  him,  and  active  service 
was  anticipated.  Arnold's  excuse  was  that  his  wounded 
leg  still  unfitted  him  for  action  either  on  foot  or 
horseback ;  but  that  at  West  Point  he  might  render 
himself  useful. 

The  expedition  of  Sir  Henry  was  delayed  by  the 
tardy  arrival  of  transports.  In  the  mean  time  he  heard 
of  the  sudden  move  of  Washington,  and  learned  more- 
over, that  the  position  of  the  French  at  Newport  had 
been  strengthened  by  the  militia  from  the  neighboring 
country.  These  tidings  disconcerted  his  plans.  He 
left  Admiral  Arbuthnot  to  proceed  with  his  squadi'on 
to  Newport,  blockade  the  French  fleet  and  endeavor  to 
intercept,  the  second  division,  supposed  to  be  on  its  way, 
while  he  with  his  troops  hastened  back  to  New  York. 

In  consequence  of  their  return  Washington  again 
withdrew  his  forces  to  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson ; 
first  estabhshing  a  post  and  throwing  up  some  small 
works  at  Dobbs  Ferry,  about  ten  miles  above  King's 
Bridge,  to  secure  a  communication  across  the  river  for 
the  transportation  of  troops  and  ordnance,  should  the 
design  upon  New  York  be  prosecuted. 

VOL.  IV. 6 


82  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

Arnold  now  received  the  important  command  which 
he  had  so  earnestly  coveted.  ,  It  included  the  fortress 
at  West  Point  and  the  posts  from  Fishkill  to  King's 
Ferry,  together  with  the  corps  of  infantry  and  cavalry 
advanced  towards  the  enemy's  line  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river.  He  was  ordered  to  have  the  works  at  the 
Point  completed  as  expeditiously  as  possible,  and  to 
keep  all  his  posts  on  their  guard  against  surprise; 
there  being  constant  apprehensions  that  the  enemy 
might  make  a  sudden  effort  to  gain  possession  of  the 
nver. 

Having  made  these  arrangements,  Washington  re- 
crossed  to  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson,  and  took  post 
at  Orangetown  or  Tappan,  on  the  borders  of  the  Jer- 
seys, and  opposite  to  Dobbs  Perry,  to  be  at  hand  for 
any  attempt  upon  New  York. 

The  execution  of  this  cherished  design,  however, 
was  again  postponed  by  intelligence  that  the  second 
division  of  the  Prench  reinforcements  was  blockaded 
m  the  harbor  of  Brest  by  the  Bntish :  Washington  still 
had  hopes  that  it  might  be  carried  into  effect  by  the 
aid  of  the  squadron  of  the  Count  de  Guichen  from  the 
West  Indies  ;  or  of  a  fleet  from  Cadiz. 

At  this  critical  juncture,  an  embarrassing  derange- 
ment took  place  in  the  quartermaster-general's  depart- 
ment, of  which  General  Greene  was  the  head.  The 
reorganization  of  this  department  had  long  been  in 
agitation.  A  system  had  been  digested  by  Washing- 
ton, Schuyler  and  Greene,  adapted,  as  they  thought, 
to  the  actual  situation  of  the  country  Greene  had 
offered,  should  it  be  adopted,  to  continue  in  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  of  the  department,  without  any 


1780.]     Greene's  difficulty  with  congress.       83 

extra  emolument  other  than  would  cover  the  expenses 
of  his  family.  Congress  devised  a  different  scheme. 
He  considered  it  incapable  of  execution,  and  likely  to 
be  attended  with  calamitous  and  disgraceful  results ;  he 
therefore  tendered  his  resignation.  Washington  en- 
deavored to  prevent  its  being  accepted.  "  Unless  effec- 
tual measiu-es  are  taken,"  said  he,  "  to  induce  General 
Greene  and  the  other  principal  officers  of  that  depart- 
ment to  continue  their  services,  there  must  of  necessity 
be  a  total  stagnation  of  military  business.  We  not 
only  must  cease  from  the  preparations  for  the  campaign, 
but  in  all  probability,  shaU  be  obliged  to  disperse,  if 
not  disband  the  army  for  want  of  subsistence." 

The  tone  and  manner,  however,  assumed  by  General 
Greene  in  offering  his  resignation,  and  the  time  chosen, 
when  the  campaign  was  opened,  the  enemy  in  the  field, 
and  the  French  commanders  waiting  for  co-operation, 
were  deeply  offensive  to  Congress.  His  resignation 
was  promptly  accepted  •  there  was  a  talk  even  of  sus- 
pending him  from  his  command  in  the  line. 

Washington  interposed  his  sagacious  and  considerate 
counsels  to  allay  this  irritation,  and  prevent  the  infliction 
of  such  an  indignity  upon  an  officer,  for  whom  he  en- 
tertained the  highest  esteem  and  friendship.  "  A  pro- 
cedure of  this  kind  without  a  proper  tnal,"  said  he, 
"  must  touch  the  feehngs  of  every  officer.  It  will  show 
in  a  conspicuous  point  of  view  the  uncertain  tenure  by 
which  they  hold  their  commissions.  In  a  word,  it  will 
exhibit  such  a  specimen  of  pbwer,  that  I  question  much 
if  there  is  an  officer  in  the  whole  line  that  \^  hold  a 
commission  beyond  the  end  of  the  campaign,  if  he  does 
tiU  then.     Such  an  act  in  the  most  despotic  govern- 


84  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

ment  would  be  attended  at  least  with  loud  com- 
plaints." 

The  counsels  of  Washington  prevailed ;  the  indig- 
nity was  not  inflicted,  and  Congress  was  saved  from 
the  error,  if  not  disgrace,  of  discarding  from  her  service 
one  of  the  ablest  and  most  meritorious  of  her  generals. 

Colonel  Pickering  was  appointed  to  succeed  Greene 
as  quartermaster-general,  but  the  latter  continued  for 
some  time,  at  the  request  of  Washington,  to  aid  in  con- 
ducting the  business  of  the  department.  Colonel  Pick- 
ering acquitted  himself  in  his  new  office  with  zeal, 
talents  and  integrity,  but  there  were  radical  defects  in 
the  system  which  defied  all  abihty  and  exertion. 

The  commissariat  was  equally  in  a  state  of  derange- 
ment. "  At  this  very  juncture,'*  wntes  Washington 
(Aug  20th),  "  I  am  reduced  to  the  painful  alternative, 
either  of  dismissing  a  part  of  the  militia  now  assembhng, 
or  of  letting  them  come  forward  to  starve ;  which  it  will 
be  extremely  difficult  for  the  troops  already  in  the  field 
to  avoid.  *  *  *  *  Every  day's  experience  proves 
more  and  more  that  the  present  mode  of  supplies  is 
the  most  uncertain,  expensive  and  injurious,  that  could 
be  devised.  It  is  impossible  for  us  to  form  any  calcu- 
lations of  what  we  are  to  expect,  and  consequently,  to 
concert  any  plans  for  future  execution.  No  adequate 
provision  of  forage  having  been  made,  we  are  now 
obUged  to  subsist  the  horses  of  the  army  by  force, 
which,  among  other  evils,  often  gives  rise  to  civil  dis- 
putes and  prosecutions,  as  vexatious  as  they  are  bur- 
densome to  the  pubhc."  In  his  emergencies  he  was 
forced  to  empty  the  magazines  at  West  Point ;  yet 
these  afforded  but  temporary  reUef ;  scarcity  continued 


1780.]  DESTITUTION    OP   THE   ARMT.  85 

to  prevail  to  a  distressing  degree,  and  on  the  6th  of 
September,  he  complains  that  the  army  has  for  two 
or  three  days  been  entirely  destitute  of  meat.  "  Such 
injuiy  to  the  discipline  of  the  army,"  adds  he,  "  and 
such  distress  to  the  inhabitants,  result  from  these  fre- 
quent events,  that  my  feehngs  are  hurt  beyond  descrip- 
tion at  the  cries  of  the  one  and  at  seeing  the  other." 

The  anxiety  of  Washmgton  at  this  moment  of 
embarrassment  was  heightened  by  the  receipt  of  dis- 
astrous intelligence  from  the  South ;  the  purport  of 
which  we  shall  succinctly  relate  in  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

NORTH  0A.EOLrNA. — ^DIPFICTJLTIES  OF  ITS  INYASION — OHA.BACTEB  OF  THE 
PEOPLE  AND  OOUNTBT — STTMTEB,  HIS  OHAKACTEB  AND  STORY — BOCKT 
MOUNT — HANGING  BOCK — SLOW  ADVANCE  OF  DB  KALB — GATES  TAKES 
COMMAND — DESOLATE  MABOH — BATTLE  OF  CAMDEN — FLIGHT  OF  GATES 
— 8UMTEE  StTEPBISED  BT  TAELETON  AT  THE  WAXHAWS — WASHING- 
TON'S OPINION  OF  MILITIA — HIS   LEXTEB  TO   GATES. 

Lord  Cornwallis,  when  left  in  military  command  at 
the  South  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  was  charged,  it  wiH 
be  recollected,  with  the  mvasion  of  North  Carolma.  It 
was  an  enterprise  in  which  much  difficulty  was  to  be 
apprehended,  both  from  the  character  of  the  people  and 
the  country.  The  original  settlers  were  from  various 
parts,  most  of  them  men  who  had  expierienced  poUtical 
or  religious  oppression,  and  had  brought  with  them  a 
quick  sensibility  to  wrong,  a  stern  appreciation  of  their 
rights,  and  an  indomitable  spirit  of  freedom  and  inde- 
pendence. In  the  heart  of  the  State  was  a. hardy  Pres- 
byterian stock,  the  Scotch  Irish,  as  they  were  called, 
having  emigrated  from  Scotland  to  Ireland,  -and  thence 
to  America ;  and  who  were  said  to  possess  the  impul- 
siveness of  the  Irishman,  with  the  dogged  resolution  of 
the  Covenanter. 

The  early  history  of  the  colony  abounds  with  in- 


1780.]  SPIRIT  OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  87 

stances  of  this  spirit  among  its  people.  "  They  always 
behaved  insolently  to  their  governors,"  complains  Gov- 
ernor Harrington  in  1731;  "  some  they  have  driven  out 
of  the  country — at  other  times  they  set  up  a  govern- 
ment of  their  own  choice,  supported  by  men  under 
arms."  It  was  in  fact  the  spirit  of  popular  liberty  and 
self-government  which  stirred  within  them,  and  gave 
birth  to  the  glorious  axiom ,  "  the  rights  of  the  many 
against  the  exactions  of  the  few."  So  ripe  was  this 
spirit  at  an  early  day,  that  when  the  boundary  line  was 
run,  in  1727,  between  North  Carolma  and  Virginia,  the 
borderers  were  eager  to  be  included  within  the  former 
province,  *'  as  there  they  payed  no  tribute  to  God  or 
Caesar." 

It  was  this  spirit  which  gave  rise  to  the  confederacy, 
called  the  Regulation,  formed  to  withstand  the  abuses 
of  power ;  and  the  first  blood  shed  in  our  country,  in 
resistance  to  arbitrary  taxation,  was  at  Alamance  in  this 
province,  in  a  conflict  between  the  regulators  and  Gov- 
ernor Tryon.  Above  all,  it  should  never  be  forgotten, 
that  at  Mecklenburg,  in  the  heart  of  North  Carolina, 
was  fulminated  the  first  declaration  of  independence  of 
the  British  crown,  upwards  of  a  year  before  a  Uke  de- 
claration by  Congress. 

A  population  so  .characterized  presented  formidable 
difficulties  to  the  invader.  The  physical  difficulties 
arising  from  the  nature  of  the  country  consisted  in  its 
mountain  fastnesses  in  the  north-western  part,  its  vast 
forests,  its  sterile  tracts,  its  long  rivers,  destitute  of 
bridges,  and  which,  though  fordable  m  fair  weather, 
were  liable  to  be  swollen  by  sudden  storms  and  freshes, 
and  rendered  deep,  tiirbulent  and  impassable.     These 


88  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

rivers,  in  fact,  which  rushed  down  from  the  moun- 
tain, but  wound  sluggishly  through  the  plains,  were 
the  mihtary  strength  of  the  country,  as  we  shall  have 
frequent  occasion  to  show  in  the  course  of  our  nar- 
rative. 

Lord  Comwallis  forbore  to  attempt  the  invasion  of 
North  Carolina  until  the  summer  heats  should  be  over 
and  the  harvests  gathered  m.  In  the  mean  time  he 
disposed  of  his  troops  in  cantonments,  to  cover  the 
frontiers  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  and  maintain 
their  internal  quiet.  The  command  of  the  frontiers 
was  given  by  him  to  Lord  Rawdon,  who  made  Camden 
his  principal  post.  This  town,  the  capital  of  Kershaw 
District,  a  fertile,  fruitful  country,  was  situated  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Wateree  River,  on  the  road  leading  to 
North  Carolina.  It  was  to  be  the  grand  military  depot 
for  the  projected  campaign. 

Having  made  these  dispositions,  Lord  Comwallis 
set  up  his  head-quarters  at  Charleston,  where  he  occu- 
pied himself  in  regulating  the  civil  and  commercial 
affairs  of  the  province,  in  organizing  the  militia  of  the 
lower  distncts,  and  in  forwarding  provisions  and  muni- 
tions of  war  to  Camden. 

The  proclamation  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  putting  an 
end  to  all  neutrahty,  and  the  rigorous  penalties  and 
persecutions  with  which  all  infractions  of  its  terms 
were  punished,  had  for  a  time  quelled  the  spirit  of  the 
coimtry.  By  degrees,  however,  the  dread  of  British 
power  gave  way  to  impatience  of  British  exactions. 
Symptoms  of  revolt  manifested  themselves  vc^  various 
parts.  They  were  encouraged  by  intelligence  that  De 
Kalb,  sent  by  Washington,  was  advancing  through 


1780.]  THOMAS    SUMTER.  89 

North  Carolina  at  the  head  of  two  thousand  men,  and 
that  the  miUtia  of  that  State  and  of  Virginia  were  join- 
ing his  standard.  This  was  soon  followed  by  tidings 
that  Gates,  the  conqueror  of  Burgoyne,  was  on  his  way 
to  take  command  of  the  Southern  forces. 

The  prospect  of  such  aid  from  the  North  reani- 
mated the  Southern  patriots.  One  of  the  most  emi- 
nent of  these  was  Thomas  Sumter,  whom  the  Carolini- 
ans had  sumamed  the  Game  Cock.  He  was  between 
forty  and  fifty  years  of  age,  brave,  hardy,  vigorous, 
resolute.  He  had  served  against  the  Indians  in  his 
boyhood  during  the  old  French  war,  and  had  been  pre- 
sent at  the  defeat  of  Braddock.  In  the  present  war 
he  had  held  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel  of  riflemen 
in  the  Continental  line.  After  the  fall  of  Charleston, 
when  patriots  took  refuge  in  contiguous  States,  or  in 
the  natural  fastnesses  of  the  country,  he  had  retired 
with  his  familv  into  one  of  the  latter. 

The  lower  part  of  South  Carohna  for  upwards  of 
a  hundred  miles  back  from  the  sea  is  a  level  country, 
abounding  with  swamps,  locked  up  in  the  windings 
of  the  rivers  which  flow  down  from  the  Appalachian 
Mountains.  Some  of  these  swamps  are  mere  cane- 
brakes,  of  little  use  until  subdued  by  cultivation,  when 
they  yield  abundant  crops  of  rice.  Others  are  covered 
with  forests  of  cypress,  cedar  and  laurel,  green  all  the 
year  and  odoriferous,  but  tangled  with  vines  and  almost 
impenetrable.  In  their  bosoms,  however,  are  fine  sa- 
vannahs ;  natural  lawns,  open  to  cultivation  and  yield- 
ing abundant  pasturage.  It  requires  local  knowledge, 
however,  to  penetrate  these  wildernesses,  and  hence 
.they  formed  strongholds  to  the  people  of  the  country. 


90  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

In  one  of  these  natural  fastnesses,  on  the  borders  of 
the  Santee,  Sumter  had  taken  up  his  residence,  and 
hence  he  would  sally  forth  in  various  directions.  Dur- 
ing a  temporary  absence  his  retreat  had  been  invaded, 
his  house  burnt  to  the  ground,  his  wife  and  children 
driven  forth  without  shelter.  Private  injury  had  thu? 
been  added  to  the  incentives  of  patriotism.  Emerging 
from  his  hiding-place  he  had  thrown  himself  among  a 
handful  of  his  fellow-suflferers  who  had  taken  refuge  in 
North  Carolina.  They  chose  him  at  once  as  a  leader, 
and  resolved  on  a  desperate  struggle  for  the  dehverance 
of  their  native  State.  Destitute  of  regular  weapons, 
they  forged  rude  substitutes  out  of  the  implements  of 
husbandry.  Old  miU  saws  were  converted  into  broad- 
swords ;  knives  at  the  ends  of  poles  served  for  lances  ; 
while  the  country  housewives  gladly  gave  up  their  pew- 
ter dishes  and  other  utensils,  to  be  melted  down  and 
cast  into  bullets  for  such  as  had  fire-arms. 

When  Sumter  led  this  gallant  band  of  exiles  over 
the  border,  they  did  not  amount  in  number  to  two 
hundred .  yet,  with  these,  he  attacked  and  routed  a 
well-armed  body  of  British  troops  and  tones,  the  ter- 
ror of  the  frontier.  His  followers  supplied  themselves 
with  weapons  from  the  slain.  In  a  little  while  his 
band  was  augmented  by  recruits.  Parties  of  militia, 
also,  recently  embodied  under  the  compelling  measures 
of  Comwallis,  deserted  to  the  patriot  standard.  Thus 
reinforced  to  the  amount  of  six  hundred  men,  he  made, 
on  the  30th  of  July,  a  spirited  attack  on  the  British 
post  at  Rocky  Mount,  near  the  Catawba,  but  was  re- 
pulsed. A  more  successful  attack  was  made  by  him, 
eight  days  afterwards,  on  another  post  at  Hanging 


1780.]  ADVANCE   OP  DE   KALB.  91 

Rock.  The  Prince  of  Wales  regiment  which  defended 
it  was  nearly  annihilated,  and  a  large  body  of  North 
Carolina  loyalists,  under  Colonel  Brian,  was  routed  and 
dispersed.  The  gallant  exploits  of  Sumter  were  emu- 
lated in  other  parts  of  the  country,  and  the  partisan 
war  thus  commenced  was  carried  on  with  an  audacity 
that  soon  obliged  the  enemy  to  call  in  then*  outposts, 
and  collect  their  troops  in  large  masses. 

The  advance  of  De  Kalb  with  remforcements  from 
the  North,  had  been  retarded  by  various  difficulties, 
the  most  important  of  which  was  want  of  provisions. 
This  had  been  especially  the  case,  he  said,  since  his 
arrival  in  North  Carolina.  The  legislative  or  executive 
power,  he  complained  gave  him  no  assistance,  nor  could 
he  obtain  supplies  from  the  people  but  by  military  force. 
There  was  no  flour  in  the  camp,  nor  were  dispositions 
made  to  furnish  any.  His  troops  were  reduced  for  a 
time  to  short  allowance,  and  at  length,  on  the  6th  of 
July,  brought  to  a  positive  halt  at  Deep  River.*  The 
North  Carolina  militia,  under  General  Caswell,  were 
already  in  the  field,  on  the  road  to  Camden,  beyond 
the  Pedee  River.  He  was  anxious  to  form  a  junction 
with  them,  and  with  some  Virginia  troops  under  Colo- 
nel Porterfield,  reliques  of  the  defenders  of  Charleston ; 
but  a  wide  and  sterile  region  lay  between  him  and 
them,  difficult  to  be  traversed,  unless  magazines  were 
established  in  advance,  or  he  were  supplied  with  provi- 
sions to  take  with  him.  Thus  circumstanced,  he  wrote 
to  Congress  and  to  the  State  Legislature,  representing 
his  situation,  and  entreatmg  relief.     Por  three  weeks 

*  A  branch  of  Cape  Fear  river.     The  aboriginal  name  Sapporah. 


92  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [17B0. 

he  remained  in  this  encampment,  foraging  an  exhausted 
country  for  a  meagre  subsistence,  and  was  thinking  of 
deviatmg  to  the  right,  and  seeking  the  fertile  counties 
of  Mecklenburg  and  Rowan,  when,  on  the  25th  of 
July,  General  Gates  arrived  at  the  camp. 

The  baron  greeted  him  with  a  Continental  salute 
from  his  little  park  of  artillery,  and  received  him  vdth 
the  ceremony  and  deference  due  to  a  superior  officer 
who  was  to  take  the  command.  There  was  a  contest 
of  politeness  between  the  two  generals.  Gates  ap- 
proved of  De  Kalb's  standing  orders,  but  at  the  first 
review  of  the  troops,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  the 
baron,  gave  orders  for  them  to  hold  themselves  in  readi- 
ness to  march  at  a  moment's  warning.  It  was  evident 
he  meant  to  signalize  himself  by  celerity  of  move- 
ment in  contrast  with  protracted  delays. 

It  was  in  vain  the  destitute  situation  of  the  troops 
was  represented  to  him,  and  that  they  had  not  a  day's 
provision  in  advance.  His  reply  was,  that  waggons 
laden  with  supplies  were  coming  on,  and  would  over- 
take them  in  two  days. 

On  the  27th,  he  actually  put  the  army  in  motion 
over  the  Buffalo  Ford,  on  the  direct  road  to  Camden. 
Colonel  Williams,  the  adjutant-general  of  De  Kalb, 
warned  him  of  the  sterile  nature  of  that  route,  and 
recommended  a  more  cu-cuitous  one  further  north, 
which  the  baron  had  intended  to  take,  and  which 
passed  through  the  abundant  county  of  Mecklenburg. 
Gates  persisted  in  taking  the  direct  route,  observing 
that  he  should  the  sooner  form  a  junction  with  Caswell 
and  the  North  Carolina  militia,  and  as  to  the  sterility 
of  the  country,  his  supplies  would  soon  overtake  him. 


1*780.]  GATES    CROSSES   THE   PEDEE.  93 

The  route  proved  all  that  had  been  represented. 
It  led  through  a  region  of  pine  barrens,  sand  hills 
and  swamps,  with  few  human  habitations,  and  those 
mostly  deserted.  The  supplies  of  which  he  had  spoken 
never  overtook  him.  His  army  had  to  subsist  itself 
on  lean  cattle,  roaming  almost  wild  in  the  woods ;  and 
to  supply  the  want  of  bread  with  green  Indian  com, 
unripe  apples,  and  peaches.  The  consequence  was,  a 
distressing  prevalence  of  dysentery. 

Having  crossed  the  Pedee  River  on  the  3d  of  Au- 
gust, the  army  was  joined  by  a  handful  of  brave  Virgi- 
nia regulars,  under  Lieutenant-colonel  Porterfield,  who 
had  been  wandering  about  the  country  since  the  disas- 
ter of  Charleston ;  and,  on  the  7th,  the  much-desired 
junction  took  place  with  the  North  Carolina  militia. 
On  the  1 3th  they  encamped  at  Rugeley's  Mills,  other- 
wise called  Clermont,  about  twelve  miles  from  Camden, 
and  on  the  following  day  were  reinforced  by  a  brigade 
of  seven  hundred  Virginia  militia,  under  General 
Stevens. 

On  the  approach  of  Gates,  Lord  Rawdon  had  con- 
centrated his  forces  at  Camden.  The  post  was  flanked 
by  the  Wateree  River  and  Pine-tree  Creek,  and 
strengthened  with  redoubts.  Lord  CornwaUis  had 
hastened  hither  from  Charleston  on  learning  that  affairs 
in  this  quarter  were  drawing  to  a  crisis,  and  had  arrived 
here  on  the  13th.  The  British  effective  force  thus 
collected  was  something  more  than  two  thousand, 
including  officers.  About  five  hundred  were  militia 
and  tory  refugees  from  North  Carolina. 

The  forces  under  Gates,  according  to  the  return  of 
liis  adjutant-general,  were  three  thousand  and  fifty-two 


94  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

fit  for  duty ;  more  than  two-thirds  of  them,  however, 
were  militia. 

On  the  14th,  he  received  an  express  from  General 
Sumter,  who,  with  his  partisan  corps,  after  harassing 
the  enemy  at  various  points,  was  now  endeavoring  to 
cut  off  their  supplies  from  Charleston.  The  object  of 
the  express  was  to  ask  a  reinforcement  of  regulars  to 
aid  him  m  capturing  a  large  convoy  of  clothing,  am- 
munition and  stores,  on  its  way  to  the  garrison,  and 
which  would  pass  Wateree  Ferry,  about  a  mile  from 
Camden. 

Gates  accordingly  detached  Colonel  Woolford  of  • 
the  Maryland  line,  with  one  hundred  regulars,  a  party 
of  artillery,  and  two  brass  field-pieces.  On  the  same 
evening  he  moved  with  his  main  force  to  take  post  at 
a  deep  stream  about  seven  miles  from  Camden,  intend- 
ing to  attack  Lord  Rawdon  or  his  redoubts,  should  he 
march  out  in  force  to  repel  Sumter. 

It  seems  hardly  credible  that  Gates  should  have 
been  so  remiss  in  collecting  information  concerning  the 
movements  of  his  enemy  as  to  be  utterly  unaware  that 
Lord  Comwallis  had  arrived  at  Camden.  Such,  how- 
ever, we  are  assured  by  his  adjutant-general,  was  the 
fact.* 

By  a  singular  coincidence.  Lord  Comwallis  on  the 
very  same  evening  sallied  forth  from  Camden  to  attack 
the  American  camp  at  Clermont. 

About  two  o'clock  at  night,  the  two  forces  blun- 
dered, as  it  were,  on  each  other  about  half  way.  A 
skirmish  took  place  between  their  advanced  guards,  in 

*  Narrative  of  Adjutant-General  Williams. 


1780.]  BATTLE   OF    CAMDEN.  95 

which  Porterfield  of  the  Virginia  regulars  was  mortally 
wounded.  Some  prisoners  were  taken  on  either  side. 
From  these  the  respective  commanders  learnt  the  nature 
of  the  forces  each  had  stumbled  upon.  Both  halted, 
formed  their  troops  for  action,  but  deferred  further  hos- 
tilities until  daylight. 

Gates  was  astounded  at  being  told  that  the  enemy 
at  hand  was  Comwallis  with  three  thousand  men. 
Calling  a  council  of  war,  he  demanded  what  was  best 
to  be  done  ?  For  a  moment  or  two  there  was  blank 
silence.  It  was  broken  by  General  Stevens  of  the 
Virginia  mihtia,  with  the  significant  question,  "  Gen- 
tlemen, IS  it  not  too  late  now  to  do  any  thing  but 
fight  ?  "  No  other  advice  was  asked  or  offered,  and 
all  were  required  to  repair  to  their  respective  com- 
mands,* though  General  de  Kalb,  we  are  told,  was  of 
opinion  that  they  should  regain  their  position  at  Cler- 
mont, and  there  await  an  attack. 

In  forming  the  line,  the  first  Maryland  division, 
including  the  Delawares,  was  on  the  right,  commanded 
by  De  Kalb.  The  Virginia  militia  under  Stevens,  wore 
on  the  left.  Caswell  with  the  North  Carolinians  formed 
the  centre.  The  artillery  was  in  battery  on  the  road. 
Each  flank  was  covered  by  a  marsh.  The  second  Mary- 
land brigade  formed  a  reserve,  a  few  himdred  yards  in 
rear  of  the  first. 

At  daybreak  (Aug.  16th),  the  enemy  were  dimly 
descned  advancing  m  column ;  they  appeared  to  be 
displaying  to  the  right.  The  deputy  adjutant-general 
ordered  the  artillery  to  open  a  fire  upon  them,  and  then 

*  Williams'  Narrative. 


96  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

rode  to  General  Gates,  who  was  in  the  rear  of  the  Kne, 
to  inform  him  of  the  cause  of  the  firing.  Gates  ordered 
that  Stevens  should  advance  briskly  with  his  brigade 
of  Virginia  militia  and  attack  them  while  in  the  act  of 
displaying.  No  sooner  did  Stevens  receive  the  order 
than  he  put  his  brigade  in  motion,  but  discovered  that 
the  right  wing  of  the  enemy  was  abeady  in  line.  A 
few  sharp  shooters  were  detached  to  run  forward,  post 
themselves  behind  trees  within  forty  or  fifty  yards  of  the 
enemy  to  extort  their  fire  while  at  a  distance,  and  render 
it  less  terrible  to  the  mihtia.  The  expedient  failed. 
The  British  rushed  on,  shouting  and  firing.  Stevens 
called  to  his  men  to  stand  firm,  and  put  them  in  mind 
of  their  bayonets.  His  words  were  unheeded.  The 
inexperienced  militia,  dismayed  and  confounded  by 
this  impetuous  assault,  threw  down  their  loaded  mus- 
kets and  fled.  The  panic  spread  to  the  North  Caro- 
Hna  militia.  Part  of  them  made  a  temporary  stand, 
but  soon  joined  with  the  rest  in  flight,  rendered  head- 
long and  disastrous  by  the  charge  and  pursuit  of  Tarle- 
ton  and  his  cavalry. 

Gates,  seconded  by  his  officers,  made  several  at- 
tempts to  rally  the  militia,  but  was  borne  along  with 
them.  The  day  was  hazy ;  there  was  no  wind  to  carry 
off"  the  smoke,  which  hung  over  the  field  of  battle  in  a 
thick  cloud.  Nothing  could  be  seen  distinctly.  Sup- 
posing that  the  regular  troops  were  dispersed  like  the 
mihtia,  Gates  gave  all  up  for  lost,  and  retreated  from 
the  field. 

The  regulars,  however,  had  not  given  way.  The 
Maryland  brigades  and  the  Delaware  regiment,  uncon- 
scious that  they  were  deserted  by  the  mihtia,  stood  their 


1780.]  DEATH    OF   DE   KALB.  97 

ground,  and  bore  the  brunt  of  the  battle.  Though 
repeatedly  broken,  they  as  often  rallied,  and  braved 
even  the  deadly  push  of  the  bayonet.  At  length  a 
charge  of  Tarleton's  cavalry  on  their  flank  threw  them 
into  confusion,  and  drove  them  into  the  woods  and 
swamps.  None  showed  more  gallantry  on  this  disas- 
trous day  than  the  Baron  de  Kalb ;  he  fought  on  foot 
with  the  second  Maryland  brigade,  and  fell  exhausted 
after  receiving  eleven  wounds.  His  aide-de-camp,  De 
Buysson,  supported  him  in  his  arms  and  was  repeatedly 
wounded  in  protecting  him.  He  announced  the  rank 
and  nation  of  his  general,  and  both  were  taken  prison- 
ers. De  Kalb  died  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  dictat- 
ing in  his  last  moments  a  letter  expressing  his  afPection 
for  the  officers  and  men  of  his  division  who  had  so 
nobly  stood  by  him  in  this  deadly  strife. 

If  the  militia  fled  too  soon  in  this  battle,  said  the 
adjutant-general,  the  regulars  remained  too  long ,  fight- 
ing when  there  was  no  hope  of  Mctory  * 

General  Gates  in  retreating  had  hoped  to  rally  a 
sufficient  force  at  Clermont  to  cover  the  retreat  of  the 
regulars,  but  the  further  they  fled,  the  more  the  militia 
were  dispersed,  until  the  generals  were  abandoned  by 
all  but  their  aids.  To  add  to  the  mortification  of 
Gates,  he  learned  m  the  course  of  his  retreat  that 
Sumter  had  been  completely  successful,  and  having 
reduced  the  enemy's  redoubt  on  the  Wateree,  and  cap- 
tured one  hundred  prisoners  and  forty  loaded  waggons, 
was  marching  off  with  his  booty  on  the  opposite  side 
of  that  river ;  apprehending  danger  from  the  quarter 

*  Williams'  Narrative. 
TOL.  IV. — ^7 


98  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

in  which  he  had  heard  firing  in  the  morning.  Gates 
had  no  longer  any  means  of  co-operating  with  him; 
he  sent  orders  to  him,  therefore,  to  retire  m  the  best 
manner  he  could ;  while  he  himself  proceeded  with 
General  Caswell  towards  the  village  of  Charlotte,  about 
sixty  miles  distant. 

CornwaUis  was  apprehensive  that  Sumter's  corps 
might  form  a  rallying  point  to  the  routed  army.  On 
the  mornmg  of  the  17  th  of  August,  therefore,  he 
detached  Tarleton  in  pursuit  with  a  body  of  cavalry 
and  light  mfantry,  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  strong. 
Sumter  was  retreatmg  up  the  western  side  of  the 
Wateree,  much  encumbered  by  his  spoils  and  prisoners. 
Tarleton  pushed  up  by  forced  and  concealed  marches 
on  the  eastern  side.  Horses  and  men  suffered  from 
the  intense  heat  of  the  weather.  At  dusk  Tarleton 
descried  the  fires  of  the  American  camp  about  a  mile 
from  the  opposite  shore.  He  gave  orders  to  secure  all 
boats  on  the  river,  and  to  light  no  fire  in  the  camp 
In  the  morning  his  sentries  gave  word  that  the  Ameri- 
cans were  quitting  their  encampment.  It  was  evident 
they  knew  nothing  of  a  British  force  being  in  pursuit 
of  them.  Tarleton  now  crossed  the  Wateree,  the 
infantry  with  a  three-pounder  passed  in  boats ;  the 
cavaby  swam  their  horses  where  the  river  was  not 
fordable.  The  delay  in  crossing,  and  the  diligence  of 
Sumter's  march,  increased  the  distance  between  the 
pursuers  and  the  pursued.  About  noon  a  part  of 
Tarleton's  force  gave  out  through  heat  and  fatigue. 
Leaving  them  to  repose  on  the  bank  of  Fishing  Creek, 
he  pushed  on  with  about  one  hundred  dragoons,  the 
freshest  and  most  able ;  still  marching  with  great  cir- 


1Y80.]  SUMTER   SURPRISED.  99 

cumspection.  As  he  entered  a  valley,  a  discharge  of 
small-arms  from  a  thicket  tumbled  a  dragoon  from  his 
saddle.  His  comrades  galloped  up  to  the  place,  and 
found  two  American  videttes  whom  they  sabred  before 
Tarleton  could  mterpose.  A  sergeant  and  five  dra- 
goons rode  up  to  the  summit  of  a  neighboring  hill  to 
reconnoitre.  Crouching  on  their  horses  they  made 
signs  to  Tarleton.  He  cautiously  approached  the  crest 
of  the  hill,  and  looking  over,  beheld  the  American 
camp  on  a  neighboring  height,  and  apparently  in  a  most 
negligent  condition. 

Sumter,  in  fact,  having  pressed  his  retreat  to  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Catawba  Ford,  and  taken  a  strong 
position  at  the  mouth  of  Fishing  Creek,  and  his  patrols 
having  scoured  the  road  without  discovering  any 
signs  of  an  enemy,  considered  himself  secure  from  sur- 
prise. The  two  shots  fired  by  liis  videttes  had  been 
heard,  but  were  supposed  to  have  been  made  by  militia 
shooting  cattle.  The  troops  having  for  the  last  four 
days  been  almost  without  food  or  sleep,  were  now 
indulged  in  complete  relaxation.  Their  arms  were 
stacked,  and  they  were  scattered  about,  some  strolling, 
some  lying  on  the  grass  under  the  trees,  some  bathing 
m  the  river.  Sumter  himself  had  thrown  off  part  of 
his  clothes  on  account  of  the  heat  of  the  weather. 

Having  well  reconnoitred  this  negligent  camp, 
indulging  m  summer  supineness  and  sultry  repose, 
Tarleton  prepared  for  instant  attack.  His  cavaby  and 
infantry  formed  into  one  fine  dashed  forward  with  a 
general  shout,  and,  before  the  Americans  could  recover 
from  their  surprise,  got  between  them  and  the  parade 
ground  on  which  the  muskets  were  stacked. 


100  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

All  was  confusion  and  consteniatiou  in  the  Ameri- 
can camp.  Some  opposition  was  made  from  behind 
baggage  waggons,  and  there  was  skirmishing  in  vari- 
ous quarters,  but  in  a  little  while  there  was  a  universal 
flight  to  the  river  and  the  woods.  Between  three  and 
four  hundred  were  killed  and  wounded  ;  all  their  arms 
and  baggage  with  two  brass  field-pieces  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  who  also  recaptured  the  prisoners 
and  booty  taken  at  Camden.  Sumter  mth  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  of  his  men  effected  a  retreat ;  he 
galloped  off",  it  is  said,  without  saddle,  hat  or  coat. 

Gates,  on  reaching  the  village  of  Charlotte,  had 
been  joined  by  some  fugitives  from  his  army.  He  con- 
tinued on  to  Hillsborough,  one  hundred  and  eighty 
miles  from  Camden,  where  he  made  a  stand  and  endea- 
vored to  rally  his  scattered  forces.  His  regular  troops, 
however,  were  little  more  than  one  thousand.  As  to 
the  militia  of  North  and  South  Carolina,  they  had  dis- 
persed to  their  respective  homes,  depending  upon  the 
patriotism  and  charity  of  the  farmers  along  the  road 
for  food  and  shelter. 

It  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  September  that 
Washington  received  word  of  the  disastrous  reverse  at 
Camden,  The  shock  was  the  greater,  as  previous  re- 
ports from  that  quarter  had  represented  the  operations 
a  few  days  preceding  the  action  as  much  in  our  favor. 
It  was  evident  to  Washington  that  the  course  of  war 
must  ultimately  tend  to  the  Southern  States,  yet  the 
situation  of  affairs  in  the  North  did  not  permit  him 
to  detach  any  sufficient  force  for  their  relief.  All  that 
he  could  do  for  the  present  was  to  endeavor  to  hold  the 
enemy  in  check  in  that  quarter     Por  this  purpose,  he 


1780.]  WASHINGTON    ON    MILITIA.  101 

gave  orders  that  some  regular  troops,  enlisted  in  Mary- 
land for  the  war,  and  intended  for  the  main  army, 
should  be  sent  to  the  southward.  He  wrote  to  Gover- 
nor Rutledge  of  South  Carolma  (12th  September),  to 
raise  a  permanent,  compact,  well-organized  body  of 
troops,  instead  of  dependmg  upon  a  numerous  army 
of  mihtia,  always  "  inconceivably  expensive,  and  too 
fluctuatmg  and  undisciplined "  to  oppose  a  regular 
force.  He  was  still  more  urgent  and  explicit  on  this 
head  in  his  letters  to  the  President  of  Congress  (Sept. 
15th)  "Regular  troops  alone,"  said  he,  "are  equal 
to  the  exigencies  of  modern  war,  as  well  for  defence  as 
offence ;  and  whenever  a  substitute  is  attempted,  it 
must  prove  illusory  and  ruinous.  No  militia  will  ever 
acquire  the  habits  necessary  to  resist  a  regular  force. 
The  firmness  requisite  for  the  real  business  of  fighting 
is  only  to  be  attained  by  a  constant  course  of  discipline 
and  service.  I  have  never  yet  been  witness  to  a  single 
instance,  that  can  justify  a  different  opinion  ;  and  it  is 
most  earnestly  to  be  wished,  that  the  liberties  of 
America  may  no  longer  be  trusted,  in  any  material 
degree,  to  so  precarious  a  dependence.  *  *  *  * 
In  my  ideas  of  the  true  system  of  war  at  the  south- 
ward, the  object  ought  to  be  to  have  a  good  army, 
rather  than  a  large  one.  Every  exertion  should  be 
made  by  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  Maryland  and  Dela- 
ware, to  raise  a  permanent  force  of  six  thousand  men, 
exclusive  of  horse  and  artillery.  These,  with  the  occa- 
sional aid  of  the  mihtia  in  the  vicinity  of  the  scene  of 
action,  will  not  only  suffice  to  prevent  the  further  pro- 
gress of  the  enemy,  but,  if  properly  supplied,  to  obHge 
them  to  compact  their  force  and  relinquish  a  part  of 


103  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

what  they  now  hold.  To  expel  them  from  the  country 
entirely  is  what  we  cannot  aim  at,  till  we  derive  more 
effectual  support  from  abroad ,  and  by  attempting  too 
much,  mstead  of  going  forward,  we  shall  go  backward. 
Could  such  a  force  be  once  set  on  foot,  it  would  im- 
mediately make  an  inconceivable  change  in  the  face  of 
affairs,  not  only  in  the  opposition  to  the  enemy,  but  in 
expense,  consumption  of  provisions,  and  waste  of  arms 
and  stores.  No  magazines  can  be  equal  to  the  demands 
of  an  army  of  militia,  and  none  need  economy  more 
than  ours." 

He  had  scarce  written  the  foregoing,  when  he 
received  a  letter  from  the  now  unfortunate  Gates,  dated 
at  Hillsborough,  Aug  30th  and  Sept.  3d,  giving  par- 
ticulars of  his  discomfiture.  No  longer  vaunting  and 
vainglorious,  he  pleads  nothing  but  his  patriotism,  and 
deprecates  the  fall  which  he  apprehends  awaits  him. 
The  appeal  which  he  makes  to  Washington's  magna- 
nimity to  support  him  in  this  day  of  his  reverse,  is  the 
highest  testimonial  he  could  give  to  the  exalted  charac- 
ter of  the  man  whom  he  once  affected  to  underrate, 
and  aspired  to  supplant. 

"  Anxious  for  the  public  good,"  said  he,  "  I  shall 
continue  my  unwearied  endeavors  to  stop  the  progress 
of  the  enemy,  reinstate  our  affairs,  recommence  an 
offensive  war,  and  recover  all  our  losses  in  the  Southern 
States.  But  if  being  unfortunate  is  solely  a  reason 
sufficient  for  removing  me  from  command,  I  shall  most 
cheerfully  submit  to  the  orders  of  Congress,  and  resign 
an  office  which  few  generals  would  be  anxious  to  pos- 
sess, and  where  the  utmost  skill  and  fortitude  are 
subject  to  be  baffled  by  difficulties,  which  must  for  a 


1780.]         LETTER   OF    GATES    TO   WASHINGTON.  103 

time  surround  the  chief  in  command  here.  That  your 
Excellency  may  meet  with  no  such  difficulties,  that 
your  road  to  fame  and  fortune  may  be  smooth  and  easy, 
is  the  sincere  wish  of  your  most  humble  servant." 

Again .  "  If  I  can  yet  render  good  service  to  the 
United  States,  it  wiU  be  necessary  it  should  be  seen 
that  I  have  the  support  of  Congress  and  of  your 
Excellency ,  otherwise,  some  men  may  think  they 
please  my  superiors  by  blaming  me,  and  thus  recom- 
mend themselves  to  favor.  But  you,  sir,  will  be  too 
generous  to  lend  an  ear  to  such  men,  if  such  there  be, 
and  wUl  show  your  greatness  of  soul  rather  by  pro- 
tecting than  slighting  the  unfortunate." 

Washington  in  his  reply,  while  he  acknowledged 
the  shock  and  surprise  caused  by  the  first  account  of 
the  unexpected  event,  did  credit  to  the  behavior  of  the 
Continental  troops.  *'  The  accounts,"  added  he,  "  which 
the  enemy  give  of  the  action,  show  that  their  victory 
was  dearly  bought.  Under  present  circumstances,  the 
system  which  you  are  pursmng  seems  to  be  extremely 
proper  It  would  add  no  good  purpose  to  take  a  posi- 
tion near  the  enemy  while  you  are  so  far  inferior  in 
force.  If  they  can  be  kept  in  check  by  the  light  irregu- 
lar troops  under  Colonel  Sumter  and  other  active  offi- 
cers, they  will  gain  nothing  by  the  time  which  must  be 
necessarily  spent  by  you  in  collecting  and  arranging 
the  new  army,  forming  magazines,  and  replacing  the 
stores  which  were  lost  in  the  action." 

Washington  still  cherished  the  idea  of  a  combined 
attaxjk  upon  New  York  as  soon  as  a  Erench  naval  force 
should  arrive.  The  destruction  of  the  enemy  here 
would  reheve  this  part  of  the  Union  from  an  internal 


104  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780, 

war,  and  enable  its  troops  and  resources  to  be  united 
with  those  of  France  in  vigorous  efforts  against  the 
common  enemy  elsewhere.  Hearing,  therefore,  that 
the  Count  de  Guichen,  with  his  West  India  squadron, 
was  approaching  the  coast,  Washington  prepared  to 
proceed  to  Hartford  in  Connecticut,  there  to  hold  a 
conference  with  the  Count  de  Rochambeau  and  the 
Chevalier  de  Ternay,  and  concert  a  plan  for  future 
operations,  of  which  the  attack  on  New  York  was  to 
form  the  principal  feature. 


CHAPTER      IX. 

TEEASOU  OF  AEXOLD — HIS  CORRESPOXDENOH  WITH  THE  ENEMY — HIS 
NEGOTIATIONS  WITH  ANDRE — PARTING  SCENE  WITH  WASHINGTON — 
MIDNIGHT  OONFERENOE  ON  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  HUDSON — RETtJEN 
OF  ANDRE  BT  LAND — 0IECUM8TANCE3  OF  HIS  CAPTUEE. 

We  have  now  to  enter  upon  a  sad  episode  of  our  revo- 
lutionary history — the  treason  of  Arnold.  Of  the  mili- 
tary skUl,  daring  enterprise,  and  indomitable  courage 
of  this  man — ample  evidence  has  been  given  in  the  fore- 
going pages.  Of  the  implicit  confidence  reposed  in  his 
patriotism  by  Washington,  sufficient  proof  is  manifested 
in  the  command  with  which  he  was  actually  entrusted. 
But  Arnold  was  false  at  heart,  and,  at  the  very  time  of 
seeking  that  command,  had  been  for  many  months  m 
traitorous  correspondence  with  the  enemy. 

The  first  idea  of  proving  recreant  to  the  cause  he 
had  vindicated  so  bravely,  appears  to  have  entered  his 
mind  when  the  charges  preferred  against  him  by  the 
council  of  Pennsylvania  were  referred  by  Congress  to  a 
court-martial.  Before  that  time  he  had  been  incensed 
against  Pennsylvania ;  but  now  his  wrath  was  excited 
against  his  country,  which  appeared  so  insensible  to  his 
services.     Disappointment  in  regard  to  the  settlement 


106  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

of  his  accounts,  added  to  his  irritation,  and  mingled 
sordid  motives  with  his  resentment ;  and  he  began  to 
think  how,  while  he  wreaked  his  vengeace  on  his  coun- 
try, he  might  do  it  with  advantage  to  his  fortunes. 
With  this  view  he  commenced  a  correspondence  with 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  a  disguised  handwriting,  and, 
under  the  signature  of  Gustavus,  representing  himself 
as  a  person  of  importance  m  the  American  service,  who, 
being  dissatisfied  with  the  late  proceedings  of  Congress, 
particularly  the  alliance  with  Prance,  was  desirous  of 
joining  the  cause  of  Great  Britain,  could  he  be  certain 
of  personal  security,  and  indemnification  for  whatever 
loss  of  property  he  might  sustain.  His  letters  occa- 
sionally communicated  articles  of  intelhgence  of  some 
moment  which  proved  to  be  true,  and  induced  Sir 
Henry  to  keep  up  the  correspondence ,  which  was  con- 
ducted on  his  part  by  his  aide-de-camp.  Major  John 
Andre,  likewise  m  a  disguised  hand,  and  under  the  sig- 
nature of  John  Anderson. 

Months  elapsed  before  Sir  Henry  discovered  who 
was  his  secret  correspondent.  Even  after  discovering 
it  he  did  not  see  fit  to  hold  out  any  very  strong  induce- 
ments to  Arnold  for  desertion.  The  latter  was  out  of 
command,  and  had  nothing  to  offer  but  his  services , 
which  in  his  actual  situation  were  scarcely  worth  buy- 
ing. 

In  the  mean  time  the  circumstances  of  Arnold  were 
daily  becoming  more  desperate.  Debts  were  accumulat- 
ing, and  creditors  becoming  more  and  more  importunate, 
as  his  means  to  satisfy  them  decreased.  The  public 
reprimand  he  had  received  was  rankUng  in  his  mind, 
and  filling  his  heart  with  bitterness.    Still  he  hesitated 


1780.]  TRAITOROUS    SCHEMES.  107 

on  the  brink  of  absolute  infamy,  and  attempted  a  half- 
way leap.  Such  was  his  proposition  to  M.  de  Luzerne 
to  make  himself  subservient  to  the  policy  of  the  French 
government,  on  condition  of  receiving  a  loan  equal  to 
the  amount  of  his  debts.  This  he  might  have  recon- 
ciled to  his  conscience  by  the  idea  that  Prance  was  an 
ally,  and  its  policy  likely  to  be  friendly.  It  was  his 
last  card  before  resorting  to  utter  treachery.  Failing 
in  it,  his  desperate  alternative  was  to  get  some  impor- 
tant command,  the  betrayal  of  which  to  the  enemy 
might  obtain  for  him  a  munificent  reward. 

He  may  possibly  have  had  such  an  idea  in  his  mind 
some  time  previously,  when  he  sought  the  command  of 
a  naval  and  military  expedition,  which  failed  to  be  car- 
ried mto  effect ,  but  such  certainly  was  the  secret  of 
his  eagerness  to  obtain  the  command  of  West  Point, 
the  great  object  of  British  and  American  solicitude,  on 
the  possession  of  which  were  supposed  by  many  to 
hinge  the  fortunes  of  the  war. 

He  took  command  of  the  post  and  its  dependencies 
about  the  beginning  of  August,  fixing  his  head-quar- 
ters at  Beverley,  a  country-seat  a  little  below  West 
Point,  on  the  opposite  or  eastern  side  of  the  river.  It 
stood  m  a  lonely  part  of  the  Highlands,  high  up  from 
the  river,  yet  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain  covered  with 
woods.  It  was  commonly  called  the  Robmson  House, 
having  formerly  belonged  to  Washington's  early  friend, 
Colonel  Beverley  Robinson,  who  had  obtained  a  large 
part  of  the  Phillipse  estate  in  this  neighborhood,  by 
marrying  one  of  the  heiresses.  Colonel  Robinson  was 
a  royahst ;  had  entered  into  the  British  service,  and  was 


108  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

now  residing  in  New  York,  and  Beverley  with  its  sur- 
rounding lands  had  been  confiscated. 

Prom  this  place  Arnold  carried  on  a  secret  corres- 
pondence with  Major  Andre.  Their  letters,  still  in 
disguised  hands,  and  under  the  names  of  Gustavu3 
and  John  Anderson,  purported  to  treat  merely  of  com- 
mercial operations,  but  the  real  matter  in  negotiation 
was  the  betrayal  of  West  Point  and  the  Highlands  to 
Sir  Henry  Clinton.  This  stupendous  piece  of  treach- 
ery was  to  be  consummated  at  the  time  when  Washing- 
ton, with  the  main  body  of  his  army,  would  be  drawn 
down  towards  King's  Bridge,  and  the  French  troops 
landed  on  Long  Island,  in  the  projected  co-operation 
against  New  York.  At  such  time,  a  flotilla  under 
Rodney,  having  on  board  a  large  land  force,  was  to 
ascend  the  Hudson  to  the  Highlands,  which  would  be 
surrendered  by  Arnold  almost  without  opposition,  under 
pretext  of  insufficient  force  to  make  resistance.  The 
immediate  result  of  this  surrender,  it  was  anticipated, 
would  be  the  defeat  of  the  combined  attempt  upon 
New  York ;  and  its  ultimate  effect  might  be  the  dis- 
memberment of  the  Union,  and  the  dislocation  of  the 
whole  American  scheme  of  warfare. 

We  have  before  had  occasion  to  mention  Major 
Andre,  but  the  part  which  he  took  in  this  dark  transac- 
tion, and  the  degree  of  romantic  interest  subsequently 
thrown  around  his  memory,  call  for  a  more  specific 
notice  of  him.  He  was  bom  in  London,  1751,  but  his 
parents  were  of  Geneva  in  Switzerland,  where  he  was 
educated.  Being  intended  for  mercantile  life,  he  en- 
tered a  London  counting-house,  but  had  scarce  attained 
his  eighteenth  year  when  he  formed  a  romantic  attach- 


JiRUdU 


OPERATIONS 


»M   -i^'  Sfrmy     Ifa^'oy  <i  A^P  Ji^' y 


MiMm» 


1780.]  MAJOR   ANDRE.  109 

ment  to  a  beautiful  girl,  Miss  Honora  Sneyd,  by  whom 
his  passion  was  returned,  and  they  became  engaged. 
This  sadly  unfitted  him  for  the  sober  routine  of  the 
counting-house.  "All  my  mercantile  calculations," 
writes  he  in  one  of  his  boyish  letters,  **  go  to  the  tune 
of  dear  Honora." 

The  father  of  the  young  lady  interfered,  and  the 
premature  match  was  broken  off.  Andre  abandoned 
the  counting-house  and  entered  the  army.  His  first 
commission  was  dated  March  4,  1771  ,  but  he  sub- 
sequently visited  Germany,  and  returned  to  England  in 
1773,  still  haunted  by  his  early  passion.  His  lady 
love,  m  the  mean  time,  had  been  wooed  by  other 
admirers,  and  in  the  present  year  became  the  second 
wife  of  Richard  Lovell  Edgeworth,  a  young  ^vldower  of 
twenty -six.* 

Andre  came  to  America  in  1774,  as  lieutenant  of 
the  Royal  English  Eusileers ;  and  was  among  the  offi- 
cers captured  at  Saint  Johns,  early  m  the  war,  by  Mont- 
gomery. He  still  bore  about  with  him  a  memento  of 
his  boyish  passion,  the  "  dear  talisman,"  as  he  called  it, 
a  miniature  of  Miss  Sneyd  painted  by  himself  in  1769. 
In  a  letter  to  a  friend,  soon  after  his  capture,  he  writes, 
"1  have  been  taken  prisoner  by  the  Americans,  and 
stnpped  of  every  thing  except  the  picture  of  Honora, 
which  1  concealed  in  my  mouth.  Preserving  that,  I 
yet  think  myself  fortunate." 

His  temper,  however,  appears  to  have  been  natu- 
rally light  and  festive ;  and  if  he  still  cherished  this 
"  tender  remembrance,"  it  was  but  as  one  of  those  doc- 

*  Father,  by  his  first  marriage,  of  the  celebrated  Maria  Edgeworth. 


110  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

uments  of  early  poetry  and  romance,  which  serve  to 
keep  the  heart  wami  and  tender  among  the  gay  and 
cold  realities  of  life.  What  ser\^ed  to  favor  the  idea 
was  a  little  song  which  he  had  composed  when  in  Phil- 
adelphia, commencing  with  the  Unes, 

Return  enraptured  hours 
When  Delia's  heart  was  mine ; 

and  which  was  supposed  to  breathe  the  remembrance 
of  his  early  and  ill-requited  passion.* 

His  varied  and  graceful  talents,  and  his  engaging 
manners,  rendered  him  generally  popular ;  while  his 
devoted  and  somewhat  subservient  loyalty  recommend- 
ed him  to  the  favor  of  his  commander,  and  obtained 
him,  without  any  distinguished  military  services,  the 
appointment  of  adjutant-general  with  the  rank  of 
major  He  was  a  prime  promoter  of  elegant  amuse- 
ment in  camp  and  gamson  ,  manager,  actor,  and  scene- 
painter  in  those  amateur  theatricals  in  which  the  British 
officers  dehghted.  He  was  one  of  the  principal  devi- 
sers of  the  Mischianza  in  Philadelphia,  in  which  semi- 
efFeminate  pageant  he  had  figured  as  one  of  the  knights 
champions  of  beauty ;  Miss  Shippen,  afterwards  Mrs. 
Arnold,  being  the  lady  whose  peerless  charms  he  under- 
took to  vindicate.  He  held,  moreover,  a  facile,  and  at 
times,  satirical  pen,  and  occasionally  amused  himself 
with  caricaturing  in  rhyme  the  appearance  and  exploits 
of  the  "  rebel  officers." 

Andre  had  already  employed  that  pen  in  a  furtive 
manner,  after  the  evaluation  of  Philadelphia  by  the 

*  Composed  at  the  request  of  Miss  Reliccca  Redman. 


1780.]  MAJOR    ANDRE.  Ill 

British ;  having  carried  on  a  correspondence  with  the 
leaders  of  a  body  of  loyaUsts  near  the  waters  of  the 
Chesapeake,  who  were  conspiring  to  restore  the  royal 
government.*  In  the  present  instance  he  had  engaged, 
nothing  loth,  in  a  service  of  intrigue  and  manoeuvre, 
which,  however  sanctioned  by  miUtary  usage,  should 
hardly  have  invited  the  zeal  of  a  high-inmded  man. 
We  say  manoeuvre,  because  he  appears  to  have  availed 
himself  of  his  former  intimacy  with  Mrs.  Arnold,  to 
make  her  an  unconscious  means  of  facihtating  a  corre- 
spondence with  her  husband.  Some  have  inculpated 
her  in  the  guilt  of  the  transaction,  but  we  think,  un- 
justly. It  has  been  alleged  that  a  coi-respondence  had 
been  going  on  between  her  and  Andre  previous  to  her 
marriage,  and  was  kept  up  after  it ,  but  as  far  as  we 
can  learn,  only  one  letter  passed  between  them,  written 
by  Andre  m  August  16th,  1779,  in  which  he  solicits 
her  remembrance,  assures  her  that  respect  for  her  and 
the  fair  circle  in  which  he  had  become  acquainted  with 
her,  remains  unimpaired  by  distance  or  political  broils, 
reminds  her  that  the  Mischianza  had  made  him  a  com- 
plete milliner,  and  offers  his  services  to  furnish  her  with 
suppUes  in  that  department.  "  I  shall  be  glad,"  adds 
he  sportively,  "  to  enter  into  the  whole  detail  of  cap 
wire,  needles,  gauze,  &c.,  and  to  the  best  of  my  abili- 
ties render  you,  in  these  tnfles,  services  fi-om  which  I 
hope  you  would  infer  a  zeal  to  be  further  employed." 
The  apparent  object  of  this  letter  was  to  open  a  conve- 
nient medium  of  communication,  which  Arnold  might 
use  without  exciting  her  suspicion. 

•  Simcoe's  MUitaiy  Journal,  p.  153.  4. 


112  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

Various  circumstances  connected  with  this  nefari- 
ous negotiation,  argue  lightness  of  mind  and  something 
of  debasing  alloy  on  the  part  of  Andre.  The  corre- 
spondence carried  on  for  months  in  the  jargon  of  traffic, 
savored  less  of  the  camp  than  the  counting-house , 
the  protracted  tampering  with  a  brave  but  necessitous 
man  for  the  sacrifice  of  his  fame  and  the  betrayal  of 
his  trust,  strikes  us  as  being  beneath  the  range  of  a 
truly  chivalrous  nature. 

Correspondence  had  now  done  its  part  in  the  busi- 
ness ;  for  the  completion  of  the  plan  and  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  traitor's  recompense,  a  personal  meeting 
was  necessary  between  Arnold  and  Andre.  The  former 
proposed  that  it  should  take  place  at  his  own  quarters 
at  the  Robinson  House,  where  Andre  should  come  in 
disguise,  as  a  bearer  of  intelligence,  and  under  the 
feigned  name  of  John  Anderson.  Andre  positively 
objected  to  entering  the  American  lines ,  it  was  ar- 
ranged, therefore,  that  the  meeting  should  take  place 
on  neutral  ground,  near  the  American  out-posts,  at 
Dobbs  Ferry,  on  the  11th  of  September,  at  12  o'clock. 
Andre  attended  at  the  appointed  place  and  time,  accom- 
panied by  Colonel  Beverley  Robinson,  who  was  ac- 
quainted with  the  plot.  An  application  of  the  latter 
for  the  restoration  of  his  confiscated  property  in  the 
Highlands,  seems  to  have  been  used  occasionally  as  a 
blind  in  these  proceedings. 

Arnold  had  passed  the  preceding  night  at  what  was 
called  the  White  House,  the  residence  of  Mr.  Joshua 
Hett  Smith,  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson, 
in  Haverstraw  Bay,  about  two  mOes  below  Stony 
Point.     He  set  off  thence  in  his  barge  for  the  place  of 


1780.]  THE   ATTEMPTED   INTERVIEW.  113 

rendezvous ;  but,  not  being  protected  by  a  flag,  was 
fired  upon  and  pursued  by  the  British  guard-boats 
stationed  near  Dobbs  Ferry.  He  took  refuge  at  an 
American  post  on  the  western  shore,  whence  he  re- 
turned in  the  night  to  his  quarters  in  the  Robinson 
House.  Lest  his  expedition  should  occasion  some  sur- 
mise, he  pretended,  in  a  note  to  Washington,  that  he 
had  been  down  the  Hudson  to  arrange  signals  in  case 
of  any  movement  of  the  enemy  upon  the  river. 

New  arrangements  were  made  for  an  interview,  but 
it  was  postponed  until  after  Washington  should  depart 
for  Hartford,  to  hold  the  proposed  conference  with 
Count  Rochambeau  and  the  other  French  officers.  In 
the  mean  time,  the  British  sloop  of  war,  Vultm'e, 
anchored  a  few  miles  below  Teller's  Point,  to  be  at 
hand  m  aid  of  the  negotiation.  On  board  was  Colonel 
Robinson,  who,  pretending  to  believe  that  General  Put- 
nam still  commanded  in  the  Highlands,  addressed  a 
note  to  him  requesting  an  interview  on  the  subject  of 
his  confiscated  property.  This  letter  he  sent  by  a  flag, 
enclosed  in  one  addressed  to  Arnold  ,  soliciting  of  him 
the  same  boon  should  General  Putnam  be  absent. 

On  the  18th  Sept.,  Washington  with  his  suite 
crossed  the  Hudson  to  Verplanck's  Point,  in  Arnold's 
barge,  on  his  way  to  Hartford.  Arnold  accompanied 
him  as  far  as  Peekskill,  and  on  the  way,  laid  before 
him  with  affected  frankness,  the  letter  of  Colonel  Rob- 
inson, and  asked  his  advice.  Washington  disapproved 
of  any  such  interview,  observing,  that  the  civil  authori- 
ties alone  had  cognizance  of  these  questions  of  confis- 
cated property. 

Arnold  now  openly  sent  a  flag  on  board  of  the 

VOL.  IV. — 8 


114  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1Y80. 

Vulture,  as  if  bearing  a  reply  to  the  letter  he  had  com- 
municated to  the  commander-in-chief.  By  this  occa- 
sion he  informed  Colonel  Robinson,  that  a  person  with 
a  boat  and  flag  would  be  alongside  of  the  Vulture,  on 
the  night  of  the  20th ,  and  that  any  matter  he  might 
wish  to  communicate,  would  be  laid  before  General 
Washington  on  the  following  Saturday,  when  he  might 
be  expected  back  from  Newport. 

On  the  faith  of  the  information  thus  covertly  con- 
veyed, Andi'e  proceeded  up  the  Hudson  on  the  20th, 
and  went  on  board  of  the  Vulture,  where  he  found 
Colonel  Robinson,  and  expected  to  meet  Arnold.  The 
latter,  however,  had  made  other  arrangements,  probably 
with  a  view  to  his  personal  security.  About  half-past 
eleven,  of  a  still  and  starlight  night  (the  21st),  a  boat 
was  descned  from  on  board,  ghding  silently  along, 
rowed  by  two  men  with  muffled  oars.  She  was  hailed 
by  an  officer  on  watch  and  called  to  account.  A  man, 
seated  in  the  stem,  gave  out  that  they  were  from 
King's  Ferry,  bound  to  Dobbs  Ferry  He  was  ordered 
alongside,  and  soon  made  his  way  on  board.  He 
proved  to  be  Mr  Joshua  Hett  Smith,  already  men- 
tioned, whom  Arnold  had  prevailed  upon  to  go  on 
board  of  the  Vulture,  and  bring  a  person  on  shore  who 
was  coming  from  New  York  with  important  intelli- 
gence. He  had  given  him  passes  to  protect  him  aijd 
those  with  him,  in  case  he  should  be  stopped,  either  in 
going  or  returning,  by  the  American  water  guard, 
which  patrolled  the  river  in  whale-boats.  He  had 
made  him  the  bearer  of  a  letter  addressed  to  Colonel 
Beverley  Robinson,  which  was  to  the  following  purport : 
"  This  will  be  delivered  to  you  by  Mr.   Smith,  who 


1780.]  THE   MIDNIGHT   CONFERENCE.  115 

will  conduct  you  to  a  place  of  safety.  Neither  Mr. 
Smith  nor  any  other  person  shall  be  made  acquainted 
witji  your  proposals ;  if  they  (which  I  doubt  not)  are 
of  such  a  nature,  that  I  can  officially  take  notice  of 
them,  I  shall  do  it  with  pleasure.  I  take  it  for  granted 
Colonel  Robinson  will  not  propose  any  thing,  that  is 
not  for  the  interest  of  the  United  States  as  well  as  of 
himself."  All  this  use  of  Colonel  Robinson's  name 
was  intended  as  a  blind,  should  the  letter  be  inter- 
cepted. 

Robinson  introduced  Andre  to  Smith  by  the  name 
of  John  Anderson,  who  was  to  go  on  shore  in  his 
place  (he  being  unwell),  to  have  an  interview  with  Gen- 
eral Arnold.  Aildre  wore  a  blue  great  coat  which  cov- 
ered his  uniform,  and  Smith  always  declared  that  at 
the  time  he  was  totally  ignorant  of  his  name  and  mili- 
tary character.  Robinson  considered  this  whole  noc- 
turnal proceeding  full  of  peril,  and  would  have  dis- 
suaded Andre,  but  the  latter  was  zealous  in  executing 
his  mission,  and,  embarking  in  the  boat  with  Smith, 
was  silently  rowed  to  the  western  side  of  the  river, 
about  six  miles  below  Stony  Point.  Here  they  landed 
a  little  after  midnight,  at  the  foot  of  a  shadowy  moun- 
tain called  the  Long  Clove  ,  a  solitary  place,  the  haunt 
of  the  owl  and  the  whippoorwill,  and  well  fitted  for 
a  treasonable  conference. 

Arnold  was  in  waiting,  but  standing  aloof  among 
thickets.  He  had  come  hither  on  horseback  from 
Smith's  house,  about  three  or  four  miles  distant,  attended 
by  one  of  Smith's  servants,  hkewise  mounted.  The 
midnight  negotiation  between  Andre  and  Arnold  was 
:arried  on  in  darkness  among  the  trees.   Smith  remained 


116  LIFE    or   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

in  the  boat,  and  the  servant  drew  off  to  a  distance  with 
the  horses.  One  hour  after  another  passed  away,  when 
Smith  approached  the  place  of  conference,  and  gave 
warning  that  it  was  near  daybreak,  and  if  they  lingered 
much  longer  the  boat  would  be  discovered. 

The  nefarious  bargain  was  not  yet  completed,  and 
Arnold  feared  the  sight  of  a  boat  going  to  the  Vulture 
might  cause  suspicion.  He  prevailed  therefore  upon 
Andre  to  remain  on  shore  until  the  following  night. 
The  boat  was  accordingly  sent  to  a  creek  higher  up  the 
river,  and  Andre,  mounting  the  servant's  horse,  set  off 
with  Arnold  for  Smith's  house.  The  road  passed 
through  the  village  of  Haverstraw.  As  they  rode 
along  in  the  dark,  the  voice  of  a  sehtinel  demanding 
the  countersign  startled  Andre  with  the  fearful  convic- 
tion that  he  was  within  the  American  lines,  but  it  was 
too  late  to  recede.  It  was  daybreak  when  they  arrived 
at  Smith's  house. 

They  had  scarcely  entered  when  the  booming  of 
cannon  was  heard  from  down  the  river.  It  gave  Andre 
uneasiness,  and  with  reason.  Colonel  Livingston,  who 
commanded  above  at  Verplanck's  Point,  learning  that 
the  Vulture  lay  within  shot  of  Teller's  Point,  which  di- 
vides Haverstraw  Bay  from  the  Tappan  Sea,  had  sent 
a  party  with  cannon  to  that  point  in  the  night,  and 
they  were  now  firing  upon  the  sloop  of  war.  Andre 
watched  the  Cannonade  mth  an  anxious  eye  from  an 
upper  window  of  Smith's  house.  At  one  time  he 
thought  the  Vulture  was  on  fire.  He  was  reheved  from 
painful  solicitude  when  he  saw  the  vessel  weigh  anchor, 
and  drop  down  the  river  out  of  reach  of  cannon  shot. 

After  breakfast,  the  plot  for  the  betrayal  of  West 


1780.]  THE   BARGAIN    COMPLETED.  117 

Point  and  its  dependent  posts  was  adjusted,  and  the 
sum  agreed  upon  that  Arnold  was  to  receive,  should  it 
be  successful.  Andre  was  furnished  with  plans  of  the 
works,  and  explanatory  papers,  which,  at  Arnold's  re- 
quest, he  placed  between  his  stockings  and  his  feet ,  pro- 
mising, in  case  of  accident,  to  destroy  them. 

All  matters  being  thus  arranged,  Arnold  prepared  to 
retiu-n  m  his  own  barge  to  his  head-quarters  at  the  Ro- 
binson House.  As  the  Vulture  had  shifted  her  ground, 
he  suggested  to  Andre  a  return  to  New  York  by  land, 
as  most  safe  and  expeditious ;  the  latter,  however,  insisted 
upon  being  put  on  board  of  the  sloop  of  war,  on  the 
ensuing  night.  Arnold  consented,  but,  before  his  de- 
parture, to  provide  against  the  possible  necessity  of  a 
return  by  land,  he  gave  Andre  the  following  pass,  dated 
from  the  Robinson  House  . 

"  Permit  Mr  John  Anderson  to  pass  the  guards  to 
the  White  Plams,  or  below  if  he  chooses ;  he  being  on 
public  business  by  my  direction. 

B.  Arnold,  M.  Genl." 

Smith  also,  who  was  to  accompany  him,  was  fur- 
nished with  passports  to  proceed  either  by  water  or  by 
land. 

Arnold  departed  about  ten  o'clock.  Andre  passed 
a  lonely  day,  casting  many  a  wistful  look  toward  the 
Vulture.  Once  on  board  of  that  ship  he  would  be  safe ; 
he  would  have  fulfiUed  his  mission ,  the  capture  of  West 
Point  would  be  certain,  and  his  triumph  would  be  com- 
plete. As  evening  approached  he  grew  impatient,  and 
spoke  to  Smith  about  departure.     To  his  surprise,  he 


118  LIFE   OF    WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

found  the  latter  had  made  no  preparation  for  it ;  he  had 
discharged  his  boatmen,  who  had  gone  home :  in  short, 
he  refused  to  take  him  on  board  of  the  Vulture.  The 
cannonade  of  the  morning  had  probably  made  him  fear 
for  his  personal  safety,  should  he  attempt  to  go  on 
board,  the  Vulture  having  resumed  her  exposed  position. 
He  offered,  however,  to  cross  the  river  with  Andre  at 
King's  Ferry,  put  him  m  the  way  of  returning  to  New 
York  by  land,  and  accompany  him  some  distance  on 
horseback. 

Andre  was  in  an  agony  at  finding  himself,  notwith- 
standing all  his  stipulations,  forced  within  the  American 
hues ;  but  there  seemed  to  be  no  alternative,  and  he 
prepared  for  the  hazardous  journey 

He  wore,  as  we  have  noted,  a  military  coat  under  a 
long  blue  surtout ,  he  was  now  persuaded  to  lay  it  aside 
and  put  on  a  citizen's  coat  of  Smith's ;  thus  adding  dis- 
guise to  the  other  humiliating  and  hazardous  circum- 
stances of  the  case. 

It  was  about  sunset  when  Andre  and  Smith,  attended 
by  a  negro  servant  of  the  latter,  crossed  from  King's 
Ferry  to  Verplanck's  Point.  After  proceeding  about 
eight  miles  on  the  road  toward  White  Plams,  they  were 
stopped  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  near  Crompond, 
by  a  patrolling  party  The  captain  of  it  was  uncom- 
monly inquisitive  and  suspicious.  The  passports  with 
Arnold's  signature  satisfied  him.  He  warned  them, 
however,  against  the  danger  of  proceeding  further  in 
the  night.  Cow  Boys  from  the  British  lines  were  scour- 
ing the  country,  and  had  recently  marauded  the  neigh- 
borhood. 'Smith's  fears  were  again  excited,  and  Andre 
was  obliged  to  yield  to  them.     A  bed  was  furnished 


1780.]  THE   NEUTRAL    GROUND.  119 

them  in  a  neighboring  house,  where  Andre  passed  an 
anxious  and  restless  night,  under  the  very  eye,  as  it 
were,  of  an  American  patrol. 

At  daybreak  he  awoke  Smith,  and  hurried  their 
departure,  and  his  mmd  was  lightened  of  a  load  of  care 
when  he  found  himself  out  of  the  reach  of  the  patrol 
and  its  inquisitive  commander. 

They  were  now  approaching  that  noted  part  of  the 
country,  heretofore  mentioned  as  the  Neutral  Ground, 
extending  north  and  south  about  thirty  miles,  between 
the  British  and  American  lines.  A  beautiful  region  of 
forest-clad  hills,  fertile  valleys,  and  abundant  streams, 
but  now  almost  desolated  by  the  scourings  of  Skinners 
and  Cow  Boys ;  the  former  professing  allegiance  to  the 
American  cause,  the  latter  to  the  British,  but  both  ar- 
rant marauders. 

One  who  had  resided  at  the  time  in  this  region,  gives 
a  sad  picture  of  its  state.  Houses  plundered  and  dis- 
mantled ,  enclosures  broken  down ;  cattle  carried  away ; 
fields  lying  waste ;  the  roads  grass-grown ;  the  country 
mournful,  solitary,  silent — ^reminding  one  of  the  desola- 
tion presented  in  the  song  of  Deborah.  "  In  the  days 
of  Shamgar  the  son  of  Anath,  in  the  days  of  Jael,  the 
highways  were  unoccupied  and  the  travellers  walked  in 
by-paths.  The  inhabitants  of  the  villages  ceased ,  they 
ceased  m  Israel."  * 

About  two  and  a  half  miles  from  Pine's  Bridge,  on 
the  Croton-River,  Andre  and  his  companion  partook  of 
a  scanty  meal  at  a  farm-house  which  had  recently  been 
harried  by  the  Cow  Boys.     Here  they  parted,  Smith  to 

*  See  Dwiglit's  Travels,  vol.  iii. 


120  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

return  home,  Andre  to  pursue  his  journey  alone  to  New 
York.  His  spirits,  however,  were  cheerful ;  for,  having 
got  beyond  the  patrols,  he  considered  the  most  perilous 
part  of  his  route  accomplished. 

About  six  mUes  beyond  Pine's  Bridge  he  came  to  a 
place  where  the  road  forked,  the  left  branch  leading  to- 
ward White  Plains  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  the 
right  inclining  toward  the  Hudson.  He  had  originally 
intended  to  take  the  left-hand  road,  the  other  being 
said  to  be  infested  by  Cow  Boys.  These,  however,  were 
not  to  be  apprehended  by  him,  as  they  belonged  to  the 
lower  party  or  British;  it  led,  too,  more  directly  to 
New  York ;  so  he  turned  down  it,  and  took  his  course 
along  the  nver  road. 

He  had  not  proceeded  far,  when  coming  to  a  place 
where  a  small  stream  crossed  the  road  and  ran  into  a 
woody  dell,  a  man  stepped  out  from  the  trees,  levelled  a 
musket  and  brought  him  to  a  stand,  while  two  other 
men  similarly  armed,  showed  themselves  prepared  to 
second  their  comrade. 

The  man  who  had  first  stepped  out  wore  a  refugee 
uniform.  At  sight  of  it  Andre's  heart  leapt,  and  he 
felt  himself  secure.  Losing  all  caution,  he  exclaimed 
eagerly :  "  Gentlemen,  I  hope  you  belong  to  our  party  ?  " 
— "  What  party  ?"  was  asked. — -"  The  lower  party," 
said  Andre. — "  We  do,"  was  the  reply.  All  reserve  was 
now  at  an  end.  Andr6  declared  hnnself  to  be  a  British 
officer ,  that  he  had  been  up  the  country  on  particular 
business,  and  must  not  be  detained  a  single  moment. 
He  drew  out  his  watch  as  he  spoke.  It  was  a  gold  one, 
and  served  to  prove  to  them  that  he  was  what  he  repre- 


1780.]  ANDRE    BROUGHT   TO   A    STAND.  121 

sented  himself,  gold  watches  being  seldom  worn  in  those 
days,  exceptmg  by  persons  of  consequence. 

To  his  consternation,  the  supposed  refugee  now 
avowed  himself  and  his  companions  to  be  Americans, 
and  told  Andre  he  was  their  prisoner ! 

It  was  even  so.  The  sacking  and  burning  of  Young's 
House,  and  the  carrying  of  its  rustic  defenders  into  cap- 
tivity, had  roused  the  spirit  of  the  Neutral  Ground. 
The  yeomanry  of  that  harassed  country  had  turned  out 
in  parties  to  intercept  freebooters  from  the  Britislf  lines, 
who  had  recently  been  on  the  maraud,  and  might  be  re- 
turning to  the  city  with  their  spoils.  One  of  these  par- 
ties, composed  of  seven  men  of  the  neighborhood,  had 
divided  itself.  Four  took  post  on  a  hill  above  Sleepy 
Hollow,  to  watch  the  road  which  crossed  the  country ; 
the  other  three,  John  Paulding,  Isaac  Van  Wart,  and 
David  Williams  by  name,  stationed  themselves  on  the 
road  which  runs  parallel  to  the  Hudson.  Two  of  them 
were  seated  on  the  grass  playing  at  cards  to  pass  away 
the  time,  while  one  mounted  guard. 

The  one  in  refugee  garb  who  brought  Andre  to  a 
stand,  was  John  Paulding,  a  stout-hearted  youngster, 
who,  like  most  of  the  young  men  of  this  outraged  neigh- 
borhood, had  been  repeatedly  in  arms  to  repel  or  resent 
aggressions,  and  now  belonged  to  the  militia.  He  had 
twice  been  captured  and  confined  in  the  loathsome  mil- 
itary prisons,  where  patriots  suffered  in  New  York, 
first  in  the  North  Dutch  Church,  and  last  in  the  noted 
Sugar  House.  Both  times  he  had  made  his  escape , 
the  last  time,  only  four  days  previous  to  the  event  of 
which  we  are  treating.  The  ragged  refugee  coat,  which 
had  deceived  Andre,  and  been  the  cause  of  his  betray- 


122  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

ing  himself,  had  been  given  to  Paulding  by  one  of  his 
captors,  in  exchange  for  a  good  yeoman  garment  of 
which  they  stripped  him.*  This  slight  circumstance 
may  have  produced  the  whole  discovery  of  the  treason. 

Andre  was  astounded  at  finding  into  what  hands  he 
had  fallen ;  and  how  he  had  betrayed  himself  by  his 
heedless  avowal.  Promptly,  however,  recovering  his 
self-possession,  he  endeavored  to  pass  off  his  previous 
account  of  himself  as  a  mere  subterfuge.  "  A  man  must 
do  any  thing,"  said  he  laughingly,  "  to  get  along."  He 
now  declared  himself  to  be  a  Continental  officer,  going 
down  to  Dobbs  Ferry  to  get  information  from  below ; 
so  saying  he  drew  forth,  and  showed  them  the  pass  of 
General  Arnold. 

This,  in  the  first  instance,  would  have  been  suffi- 
cient ;  but  his  unwary  tongue  had  ruined  him.  The 
suspicions  of  his  captors  were  completely  roused.  Seiz- 
ing the  bridle  of  his  horse,  they  ordered  him  to  dismount. 
He  warned  them  that  he  was  on  urgent  business  for 
the  general,  and  that  they  would  get  themselves  into 
trouble  should  they  detain  him.  "  We  care  not  for 
that,"  was  the  reply,  as  they  led  him  among  the  thick- 
ets, on  the  border  of  the  brook. 

Paulding  asked  whether  he  had  any  letters  about 
him.  He  answered,  no.  They  proceeded  to  search  him. 
A  minute  description  is  given  of  his  dress.  He  wore 
a  round  hat,  a  blue  surtout,  a  crimson  close-bodied  coat, 
somewhat  faded .  the  button-holes  worked  with  gold, 
and  the  buttons  covered  with  gold  lace,  a  nankeen  vest, 
and  small-clothes  and  boots. 

*  Stated  on  the  authority  of  Commodore  Hiram  Paulding,  n  son  of  the 
captor,  who  Keard  it  repeatedly  from  the  lips  of  his  father. 


1780.]  ANDRE   SEARCHED.  123 

They  obliged  him  to  take  off  his  coat  and  vest,  and 
found  on  him  eighty  dollars  m  Continental  money,  but 
nothing  to  warrant  suspicion  of  any  thing  sinister,  and 
were  disposed  to  let  him  proceed,  when  Paulding 
exclaimed :  "  Boys,  I  am  not  satisfied — -his  boots  must 
come  off." 

At  this  Andre  changed  color.  His  boots,  he  said, 
came  off  with 'difficulty  and  he  begged  he  might  not 
be  subjected  to  the  inconvenience  and  delay.  His 
remonstrances  were  in  vain.  He  was  obliged  to  sit 
down .  his  boots  were  drawn  off  and  the  concealed 
papers  discovered.  Hastily  scanning  them,  Paulding 
exclaimed,  "  My  God  !     He  is  a  spy  !  " 

He  demanded  of  Andre  wliere  he  had  gotten  these 
papers. 

"  Of  a  man  at  Pine's  Bridge,  a  stranger  to  me,"  was 
the  reply 

While  dressing  himself,  Andre  endeavored  to  ran- 
som himself  from  his  captors ,  rising  from  one  offer  to 
another.  He  would  give  any  sum  of  money,  if  they 
would  let  him  go.  He  would  give  his  horse,  saddle, 
bridle  and  one  hundred  guineas,  and  would  send  them 
to  any  place  that  might  be  fixed  upon. 

Williams  asked, him  if  he  would  not  give  more. 

He  replied,  that  he  would  give  any  reward  they 
might  name  either  in  goods  or  money,  and  would 
remain  with  two  of  their  party  while  one  went  to  New 
York  to  get  it. 

Here  Paulding  broke  in  and  declared  with  an  oath, 
that  if  he  would  give  ten  thousand  guineas  he  should 
not  stir  one  step.* 

*  Testimony  of  David  Williams. 


124  LIFE    OB  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

The  unfortunate  Andre  now  submitted  to  his  fate, 
and  the  captors  set  off  with  their  prisoner  for  North 
Castle,  the  nearest  American  post,  distant  ten  or  twelve 
miles.  They  proceeded  across  a  hilly  and  woody 
region,  part  of  the  way  by  the  road,  part  across  fields. 
One  strode  in  front,  occasionally  holding  the  horse  by 
the  bridle,  the  others  walked  on  either  side.  Andre 
rode  on  in  silence,  declining  to  answer  further  questions 
until  he  should  come  before  a  military  officer  About 
noon,  they  halted  at  a  farm  house  where  the  inhabit- 
ants were  takmg  their  mid-day  repast.  The  worthy 
housewife,  moved  by  Andre's  prepossessmg  appearance 
and  dejected  air,  kindly  invited  him  to  partake.  He 
declmed,  alleging  that  he  had  no  appetite.  Glancing 
at  his  gold-laced  crimson  coat,  the  good  dame  apolo- 
gized for  her  rustic  fare.  "  Oh,  madam,"  exclaimed 
poor  Andre  with  a  melancholy  shake  of  the  head,  "  it 
is  all  very  good — ^but,  indeed,  I  cannot  eat !  " 

This  was  related  to  us  by  a  venerable  matron,  who 
was  present  on  the  occasion,  a  young  girl  at  the  time, 
but  who  in  her  old  days  could  not  recall  the  scene  and 
the  appearance  of  Andre  without  tears. 

The  captors  with  their  prisoner  being  arrived  at 
North  Castle,  Lieutenant-colonel  Jameson,  who  was  in 
command  there,  recognized  the  handwriting  of  Arnold 
in  the  papers  found  upon  Andre,  and,  perceiving  that 
they  were  of  a  dangerous  nature,  sent  them  off  by 
express  to  General  Washington,  at  Hartford. 

Andre,  still  adhering  to  his  assumed  name,  begged 
that  the  commander  at  West  Point  might  be  informed 
that  John  Anderson,  though  bearing  his  passport,  was 
detained. 


1780.]  ANDRE   A   PRISONER.  125 

Jameson  appears  completely  to  have  lost  his  head 
on  the  occasion.  He  wrote  to  Arnold,  stating  the 
circumstances  of  the  arrest,  and  that  the  papers  found 
upon  the  prisoner  had  been  despatched  by  express  to 
the  commander-m-chief,  and  at  the  same  time,  he  sent 
the  pnsoner  himself,  under  a  strong  guard,  to  accom- 
pany the  letter.* 

Shortly  afterwards.  Major  Tallmadge,  next  in  com- 
mand to  Jameson,  but  of  a  much  clearer  head,  arrived 
at  North  Castle,  having  been  absent  on  duty  to  White 
Plains.  When  the  circumstances  of  the  case  were 
related  to  him,  he  at  once  suspected  treachery  on  the 
part  of  Arnold.  At  his  earnest  entreaties,  an  express 
was  sent  after  the  officer  who  had  Andre  in  charge, 
ordermg  him  to  brmg  the  latter  back  to  North  Castle  ; 
but  by  singular  perversity  or  obtuseness  in  judgment, 
Jameson  neglected  to  countermand  the  letter  which  he 
had  written  to  Arnold. 

When  Andre  was  brought  back,  and  was  pacing 
up  and  down  the  room,  Tallmadge  saw  at  once  by  his 
air  and  movements,  and  the  mode  of  turning  on  his 
heel,  that  he  was  a  military  man.  By  his  advice,  and 
under  his  escort,  the  prisoner  was  conducted  to  Colonel 
Sheldon's  post  at  Lower  Salem,  as  more  secure  than 
North  Castle. 

Here  Andre,  being  told  that  the  papers  found  upon 
his  person  had  been  forwarded  to  Washington,  ad- 
dressed to  him  immediately  the  following  lines : 

"  I  beg  your  Excellency  will  be  persuaded  that  no 
alteration  in  the  temper  of  my  mmd  or  apprehensions 

*  Sparks'  Arnold.     We  would  note  generally,  tliat  we  are  indebted  to  Mr. 
Sparks'  work  for  many  particulars  ^ven  by  us  of  this  tale  of  treason. 


126  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

for  my  safety,  induces  me  to  take  the  step  of  addressing 
you ;  but  that  it  is  to  secure  myself  from  the  imputa- 
tion of  having  assumed  a  mean  character  for  treacherous 
purposes  or  self-interest.  *  *  It  is  to  vindicate 
my  fame  that  I  speak,  and  not  to  solicit  security. 

"The  person  in  your  possession  is  Major  John 
Andre,  adjutant-general  of  the  British  army. 

"  The  influence  of  one  commander  in  the  army  of 
his  adversary  is  an  advantage  taken  in  war.  A  corre- 
spondence for  this  purpose  I  held ;  as  confidential  (in 
the  present  instance,)  with  his  Excellency,  Sir  Henry 
Clmton.  To  favor  it,  I  agreed  to  meet  upon  ground 
not  within  the  posts  of  either  army,  a  person  who  was 
to  give  me  intelligence.  I  came  up  in  the  Vulture 
man-of-war  for  this  effect,  and  was  fetched  from  the 
shore  to  the  beach.  Being  there,  I  was  told  that  the 
approach  of  day  would  prevent  my  return,  and  that  I 
must  be  concealed  until  the  next  night.  I  was  in  my 
regimentals  and  had  fairly  risked  my  person. 

"Against  my  stipulation,  my  intention,  and  without 
my  knowledge  beforehand,  I  was  conducted  within  one 
of  your  posts.  Thus  was  I  betrayed  into  the  vile  con- 
dition of  an  enemy  within  your  posts. 

"Having  avowed  myself  a  British  officer,  I  have 
nothing  to  reveal  but  what  relates  to  myself,  which  is 
true,  on  the  honor  of  an  officer  and  a  gentleman. 

"  The  request  I  have  made  to  your  Excellency,  and 
I  am  conscious  that  I  address  myself  well,  is,  that  in 
any  rigor  policy  may  dictate,  a  decency  of  conduct 
towards  me  may  mark,  that,  though  unfortunate,  I  am 
branded  with  nothing  dishonorable ;  as  no  motive  could 


1780,]  ANDRE    A    PRISONER.  127 

be  mine,  but  the  service  of  my  king,  and  as  I  was 
involuntarily  an  impostor/' 

This  letter  he  submitted  to  the  perusal  of  Major 
Tallmadge,  who  was  surprised  and  agitated  at  finding 
the  rank  and  importance  of  the  prisoner  he  had  m 
charge.  The  letter  being  despatched,  and  Andre's 
pride  reheved  on  a  sensitive  point,  he  resumed  his 
serenity,  apparently  unconscious  of  the  awful  responsi- 
bility of  his  situation.  Having  a  talent  for  caricature,  he 
even  amused  himself  in  the  course  of  the  day  by  mak- 
ing a  ludicrous  sketch  of  himself  and  his  rustic  escort 
under  march,  and  presenting  it  to  an  officer  m  the  room 
with  him.  "  This,''  said  he  gayly,  ''  will  give  you  an 
idea  of  the  style  m  which  I  have  had  the  honor  to  be 
conducted  to  my  present  abode." 

NOTE 

Andre's  propensity  for  caricature  had  recently  been  indulged  in  a 
mock  heroic  poem  in  three  cantos,  celebrating  an  attack  upon  a  Brit- 
ish picket  by  Wayne,  with  the  driving  into  the  American  camp  of  a 
drove  of  cattle  by  Lee's  dragoons.  It  is  written  with  great  humor,  and 
is  full  of  grotesque  imagery.  "Mad  Anthony"  especially  is  in  broad 
caricature,  and  represented  to  have  lost  his  horse  "  upon  the  great  oc- 
casion." 

His  horse  that  carried  all  his  prog, 

His  military  speeches, 
His  corn-stalk  whiskey  for  his  grog — 

Blue  stockings  and  brown  breeches. 

The  cantos  were  published  at  different  times  in  Rivington's  Ga- 
zette. It  so  happened  that  the  last  canto  appeared  on  the  very  day  of 
Andr6*s  capture,  and  ended  with  the  following  stanza,  which  might  be 
considered  ominous. 

And  now  Fve  closed  my  epic  strain, 

I  tremble  as  I  show  it, 
Lest  this  same  warrio-drover,  Wayne, 

Should  ever  catch  the  poet 


CHAPTER    X. 

INTERVIEW  OF   WASHINGTON  WITH  THE  FEENOH   OFFIOEHS   AT   HAKTFOBD 
— PLAN  OF  ATTACK   DISCONCERTED — WASHINGTON'S  RETtTBN — SCENES 

AT  Arnold's  head-quarters  in  the  highlands — tidings  of  An- 
dre's CAPTURE — FLIGHT    OF  ARNOLD — LETTERS  FROM    THE  TRAITOR 

— Washington's  precautions — situation  of  mrs.  Arnold. 

On  the  very  day  that  the  treasonable  conference  between 
Arnold  and  Andre  took  place  on  the  banks  of  Haver- 
straw  Bay,  Washington  had  his  interview  with  the 
French  officers  at  Hartford.  It  led  to  no  important 
result.  Intelligence  was  received  that  the  squadron  of 
the  Count  de  Guichen,  on  which  they  had  relied  to 
give  them  superiority  by  sea,  had  sailed  for  Europe. 
This  disconcerted  their  plans,  and  Washington,  in  con- 
sequence, set  out  two  or  three  days  sooner  than  had 
been  anticipated  on  his  return  to  his  head-quarters  on 
the  Hudson.  He  was  accompanied  by  Lafayette  and 
General  Knox  with  their  suites ;  also,  part  of  the  way, 
by  Count  Matthew  Dumas,  aide-de-camp  to  Rocham- 
beau.  The  coimt,  who  regarded  Washington  with  an 
enthusiasm  which  appears  to  have  been  felt  by  many 
of  the  young  French  officers,  gives  an  animated  picture 
of  the  manner  in  which  he  was  greeted  in  one  of  the 


1780.]  ARRIVAL   OF   WASHINGTON.  129 

towns  through  which  they  passed.  "  We  arrived  there," 
says  he,  "  at  night ;  the  whole  population  had  sallied 
forth  beyond  the  suburbs.  We  were  siurounded  by  a 
crowd  of  children  carrying  torches,  and  reiterating  the 
acclamations  of  the  citizens ;  all  were  eager  to  touch 
the  person  of  him  whom  they  hailed  with  loud  cries  as 
their  father,  and  they  thronged  before  us  so  as  almost 
to  prevent  our  moving  onward.  General  Washington, 
much  affected,  paused  a  few  moments,  and  pressing  my 
hand,  '  AVe  may  be  beaten  by  the  English,'  said  he, 
'  it  is  the  chance  of  war ,  but  there  is  the  army  they 
will  never  conquer ! ' " 

These  few  words  speak  that  noble  confidence  in  the 
enduring  patriotism  of  his  countrymen,  which  sustained 
him  throughout  all  the  fluctuating  fortunes  of  the  Re- 
volution ;  yet  at  this  very  moment  it  was  about  to  re- 
ceive one  of  the  cruellest  of  wounds. 

On  approaching  the  Hudson  Washington  took  a 
more  circuitous  route  than  the  one  he  had  originally  in- 
tended, striking  the  river  at  Pishkill  just  above  the 
Highlands,  that  he  might  visit  West  Point,  and  show 
the  marquis  the  works  which  had  been  erected  there 
during  his  absence  in  France.  Circumstances  detained 
them  a  night  at  Fishkill.  Their  baggage  was  sent  on 
to  Arnold's  quarters  in  the  Robinson  House,  with  a 
message  apprismg  the  general  that  they  would  break- 
fast there  the  next  day.  In  the  morning  (Sept.  24th) 
they  were  in  the  saddle  before  break  of  day,  having 
a  ride  to  make  of  eighteen  miles  through  the  moun- 
tains. It  was  a  pleasant  and  animated  one.  Washing- 
ton was  in  excellent  spirits,  and  the  buoyant  marquis, 

VOL.  IV. — ^9 


130  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

and  genial,  warm-hearted  Knox,  were  coinpanion3  with 
whom  he  was  always  disposed  to  unbend. 

When  within  a  mile  of  the  Robinson  House,  Wash- 
ington turned  down  a  cross  road  leading  to  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson.  Lafayette  apprised  him  that  he  was 
going  out  of  the  way,  and  hinted  that  Mrs.  Arnold 
must  be  waiting  breakfast  for  him.  "  Ah,  marquis  ! " 
replied  he  good  humoredly,  "  you  young  men  are  all  in 
love  with  Mrs.  Arnold.  I  see  you  are  eager  to  be  with 
her  as  soon  as  possible.  Go  you  and  breakfast  with 
her,  and  tell  her  not  to  wait  for  me.  I  must  ride  down 
and  examine  the  redoubts  on  this  side  of  the  nver,  but 
will  be  with  her  shortly." 

The  marquis  and  General  Knox,  however,  turned 
off  and  accompanied  him  down  to  the  redoubts,  while 
Colonel  Hamilton  and  Lafayette's  aide-de-camp.  Major 
James  McHenry,  continued  along  the  main  road  to  the 
Robinson  House,  bearing  Washington's  apology,  and 
request  that  the  breakfast  might  not  be  retarded. 

The  family  with  the  two  aides-de-camp  sat  down  to 
breakfast.  Mrs.  Arnold  had  arrived  but  four  or  five 
days  previously  from  Philadelphia,  with  her  infant  child, 
then  about  six  months  old.  She  was  bright  and  amia- 
ble as  usual.  Arnold  was  silent  and  gloomy.  It  was 
an  anxious  moment  with  him.  This  was  the  day  ap- 
pointed for  the  consummation  of  the  plot,  when  the 
enemy's  ships  were  to  ascend  the  river.  The  return  of 
the  commander-in-cliief  from  the  East  two  days  sooner 
than  had  been  anticipated,  and  his  proposed  visit  to  the 
forts,  threatened  to  disconcert  every  thing.  What  might 
be  the  consequence  Arnold  could  not  conjecture.  An 
interval  of  fearful  imaginings  was  soon  brought  to  a 


1780.]  FLIGHT   OF   ARNOLD.  131 

direful  close.  In  the  midst  of  the  repast  a  horseman 
ahghted  at  the  gate.  It  was  the  messenger  bearing 
Jameson's  letter  to  Arnold,  stating  the  capture  of  Andre, 
and  that  dangerous  papers  found  on  him  had  been  for- 
warded to  Washington. 

The  mine  had  exploded  beneath  Arnold's  feet ;  yet 
in  this  awful  moment  he  gave  an  evidence  of  that  quick- 
ness of  mind  which  had  won  laurels  for  him  when  m 
the  path  of  duty.  Controlling  the  dismay  that  must 
have  smitten  him  to  the  heart,  he  beckoned  Mrs.  Arnold 
from  the  breakfast  table,  sigmfymg  a  Avish  to  speak 
with  her  in  private.  When  alone  with  her  in  her  room 
up  stairs,  he  announced  in  hurried  words  that  he  was 
a  ruined  man,  and  must  instantly  fly  for  his  hfe  !  Over- 
come by  the  shock,  she  fell  senseless  on  the  floor. 
Without  pausing  to  aid  her,  he  hmTied  down  stairs, 
sent  the  messenger  to  her  assistance,  probably  to  keep 
him  from  an  interview  with  the  other  officers ;  returned 
to  the  breakfast  room,  and  informed  his  guests  that  he 
must  haste  to  West  Point  to  prepare  for  the  reception 
of  the  commander-in-chief ,  and  mounting  the  horse  of 
the  messenger,  which  stood  saddled  at  the  door,  gal- 
lopped  down  by  what  is  still  called  Arnold's  Path,  to 
the  landing-place,  where  his  six-oared  barge  was 
moored.  Throwing  himself  into  it,  he  ordered  his  men 
to  pull  out  into  the  middle  of  the  river,  and  then  made 
down  with  all  speed  for  Teller's  Point,  which  divides 
Haverstraw  Bay  from  the  Tappan  Sea,  saying  he  must 
be  back  soon  to  meet  the  commander-in-chief. 

Washington  arrived  at  the  Robinson  House  shortly 
after  the  flight  of  the  traitor.  Being  informed  that 
Mrs.  Arnold  was  in  her  room,  unwell,  and  that  Arnold 


132  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

had  gone  to  West  Point  to  receive  him,  he  took  a  hasty 
breakfast  and  repaired  to  the  fortress,  leaving  word 
that  he  and  his  suite  would  retui'n  to  dinner. 

In  crossing  the  river  he  noticed  that  no  salute  was 
fired  from  the  fort,  nor  Avas  there  any  preparation  to 
receive  him  on  his  landing.  Colonel  Lamb,  the  officer 
m  command,  who  came  down  to  the  shore,  manifested 
surprise  at  seeing  him,  and  apologized  for  this  want 
of  military  ceremony,  by  assuring  him  he  had  not  been 
apprised  of  his  intended  visit. 

'*  Is  not  General  Arnold  here  ?  "  demanded  Wash- 
ington. 

"  No,  sir  He  has  not  been  here  for  two  days 
past ;  nor  have  I  heard  from  him  in  that  time." 

This  was  strange  and  perplexing,  but  no  sinister 
suspicion  entered  Washington's  mind.  He  remained 
at  the  Point  throughout  the  mommg  inspecting  the  for- 
tifications. In  the  mean  time,  the  messenger  whom 
Jameson  had  despatched  to  Plartford  with  a  letter  cov- 
ering the  papers  taken  on  Andre,  arrived  at  the  Robin- 
son House.  He  had  learnt,  while  on  the  way  to  Hart- 
ford, that  Washington  had  left  that  place,  whereupon 
he  turned  bridle  to  overtake  him,  but  missed  him  in 
consequence  of  the  general's  change  of  route.  Com- 
ing by  the  lower  road,  the  messenger  had  passed 
through  Salem,  where  Andre  was  confined,  and  brought 
with  him  the  letter  "written  by  that  unfortunate  officer 
to  the  commander-in-chief,  the  purport  of  which  has 
already  been  given.  These  letters  being  represented 
as  of  the  utmost  moment,  were  opened  and  read  by 
Colonel  Hamilton,  as  Washington's  aide-de-camp  and 
confidential  officer.     He  maintained  silence  as  to  theii- 


1780.]  FLIGHT   OP   ARNOLD.  133 

contents ;  met  Washington,  as  he  and  his  companions 
were  coming  up  from  the  river,  on  their  return  from 
West  Point,  spoke  to  him  a  few  words  in  a  low  voice, 
and  they  retired  together  into  the  house.  Whatever 
agitation  Washington  may  have  felt  when  these  docu- 
ments of  deep-laid  treachery  were  put  before  him,  he 
wore  his  usual  air  of  equanimity  when  he  rejoined  his 
companions.  Taking  Knox  and  Lafayette  aside,  he 
communicated  to  them  the  intelligence,  and  placed  the 
papers  in  their  hands.  "  Whom  can  we  trust  now !  " 
was  his  only  comment,  but  it  spoke  volumes. 

His  first  idea  was  to  arrest  the  traitor.  Conjectur- 
ing the  direction  of  his  flight,  he  despatched  Colonel 
Hamilton  on  horseback  to  spur  Avith  all  speed  to  Ver- 
planck's  Point,  which  commands  the  narrow  part  of 
the  Hudson,  just  below  the  Highlands,  with  orders  to 
the  commander  to  intercept  Arnold  should  he  not 
already  have  passed  that  post.  This  done,  when  din- 
ner was  announced,  he  invited  the  company  to  table. 
"  Come,  gentlemen  ;  since  Mrs.  Arnold  is  unwell  and 
the  general  is  absent,  let  us  sit  down  without  cere- 
mony." The  repast  was  a  quiet  one,  for  none  but  La- 
fayette and  Knox,  beside  the  general,  knew  the  purport 
of  the  letters  just  received. 

In  the  mean  time,  Arnold,  panic-stricken,  had  sped 
his  caitiff  flight  through  the  Highlands  ;  infamy  howl- 
ing in  his  rear ;  arrest  threatening  him  in  the  advance ; 
a  fugitive  past  the  posts  which  he  had  recently  com- 
manded; shrinking  at  the  sight  of  that  flag  which 
hitherto  it  had  been  his  glory  to  defend  I  Alas  1  how 
changed  from  the  Arnold,  who,  but  two  years  previ- 
ously, when  repulsed,  wounded  and  crippled  before 


134  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

the  walls  of  Quebec,  could  yet  write  proudly  from  a 
shattered  camp,  "  I  am  in  the  way  of  my  duty  and  I 
know  no  fear  !  " 

He  had  passed  through  the  Highlands  in  safety, 
but  there  were  the  batteries  at  Verplanck's  Point  yet 
to  fear.  Fortunately  for  him,  Hamilton,  with  the  order 
for  his  arrest,  had  not  arrived  there. 

His  barge  was  known  by  the  garrison.  A  white 
handkerchief  displayed  gave  it  the  sanction  of  a  flag 
of  truce .  it  was  suffered  to  pass  without  question, 
and  the  traitor  effected  his  escape  to  the  Vulture  sloop- 
of-war,  anchored  a  few  mUes  below.  As  if  to  con- 
summate his  degradation  by  a  despicable  act  of  treach- 
ery and  meanness,  he  gave  up  to  the  commander  his 
coxswain  and  six  bargemen  as  prisoners  of  war.  We 
are  happy  to  add,  that  this  perfidy  excited  the  scorn  of 
the  British  officers ;  and,  when  it  was  found  that  the 
men  had  supposed  they  were  acting  under  the  protec- 
tion of  a  flag,  they  were  released  by  order  of  Sir  Henry 
Chnton. 

Colonel  Hamilton  returned  to  the  Robinson  House 
and  reported  the  escape  of  the  traitor.  He  brought 
two  letters  also  to  Washington,  which  had  been  sent 
on  shore  from  the  Vulture,  under  a  flag  of  truce.  One 
was  from  Arnold,  of  which  the  following  is  a  tran- 
script. 

"  Sir, — The  heart  which  is  conscious  of  its  own 
rectitude,  cannot  attempt  to  palliate  a  step  which  the 
world  may  censure  as  wrong ;  I  have  ever  acted  from 
a  principle  of  love  to  my  country,  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  present  unhappy  contest  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  colonies ;  the  same  principle  of  love  to 


1780.]  LETTER   OF   ARNOLD.  135 

my  country  actuates  my  present  conduct,  however  it 
may  appear  inconsistent  to  the  world,  who  seldom 
judge  right  of  any  man's  actions. 

"  I  ask  no  favor  for  myself.  I  have  too  often  experi- 
enced the  ingratitude  of  my  country  to  attempt  it ; 
but,  from  the  known  humanity  of  your  Excellency,  I 
am  induced  to  ask  your  protection  for  Mrs.  Arnold 
from  every  insult  and  injury  that  a  mistaken  vengeance 
of  my  country  may  expose  her  to.  It  ought  to  fall 
only  on  me ;  she  is  as  good  and  as  innocent  as  an 
angel,  and  is  incapable  of  doing  wrong.  I  beg  she 
may  be  permitted  to  return  to  her  friends  in  Philadel- 
phia, or  to  come  to  me  as  she  may  choose ;  from  your 
Excellency  I  have  no  fears  on  her  account,  but  she  may 
suffer  from  the  mistaken  fury  of  the  country." 

The  other  letter  was  from  Colonel  Beverley  Robin- 
son, mterceding  for  the  release  of  Andre,  on  the  plea 
that  he  was  on  shore  under  the  sanction  of  a  flag  of 
truce,  at  the  request  of  Arnold.  Robinson  had  hoped 
to  find  favor  with  Washington  on  the  score  of  their 
early  intimacy. 

Notwithstanding  Washington's  apparent  tranquilH- 
ty  and  real  self-possession,  it  was  a  time  of  appalling  dis- 
trust. How  far  the  treason  had  extended ,  who  else 
might  be  implicated  in  it,  was  unknown.  Arnold  had 
escaped,  and  was  actually  on  board  of  the  Vulture ; 
he  knew  every  thing  about  the  condition  of  the  posts  : 
might  he  not  persuade  the  enemy,  in  the  present  weak 
state  of  the  garrisons,  to  attempt  a  coup  de  main? 
Washington  instantly,  therefore,  despatched  a  letter  to 
Colonel  Wade,  who  was  in  temporary  command  at 
West  Point.     "  General  Arnold  is  gone  to  the  enemy," 


136  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

writes  he.  "  I  have  just  now  received  a  Kne  from  him  en- 
closing one  to  Mrs,  Arnold,  dated  on  board  of  the  Vul- 
ture. I  request  that  you  will  be  as  vigilant  as  possible, 
and  as  the  enemy  may  have  it  in  contemplation  to 
attempt  some  enterprise,  even  to-nigU,  against  these 
posts,  I  wish  you  to  make,  immediately  after  the  receipt 
of  this,  the  best  disposition  you  can  of  your  force,  so 
as  to  have  a  proportion  of  men  in  each  work  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river." 

A  regiment  stationed  in  the  Highlands  was  ordered 
to  the  same  duty,  as  well  as  a  body  of  the  Massachu- 
setts militia  from  Pishkill.  At  half-past  seven  in  the 
evening  Washington  wrote  to  General  Greene,  who, 
in  his  absence,  commanded  the  anny  at  Tappan ;  urg- 
ing him  to  put  the  left  division  in  motion  as  soon  as 
possible,  with  orders  to  proceed  to  King's  Ferry,  where, 
or  before  they  should  arrive  there,  they  would  be  met 
with  further  orders.  "The  division,"  writes  he,  "will 
come  on  light,  leaving  their  heavy  baggage  to  follow. 
You  will  also  hold  all  the  troops  in  readiness  to  move 
on  the  shortest  notice.  Transactions  of  a  most  inter- 
esting nature,  and  such  as  will  astonish  you,  have  been 
just  discovered." 

His  next  thought  was  about  Andre.  He  Avas  not 
acquainted  with  hmi  personally,  and  the  intrigues  in 
which  he  had  been  engaged  and  the  errand  on  which 
he  had  come,  made  him  consider  him  an  artful  and 
resolute  person.  He  had  possessed  himself  of  dan- 
gerous information,  and  in  a  manner  had  been  arrested 
with  the  key  of  the  citadel  in  his  pocket.  On  the 
same  evening,  therefore,  Washington  wrote  to  Colonel 
Jameson,  charging  that  every  precaution  should  be 


1780.]  DISTRESS   OP   MRS.    ARNOLD.  137 

taken  to  prevent  Major  Andre  from  making  his  escape. 
"  He  will  no  doubt  effect  it,  if  possible,  and  m  order 
that  he  may  not  have  it  in  his  power,  you  will  send 
him  under  the  care  of  such  a  party  and  so  many  offi- 
cers as  to  preclude  him  from  the  least  opportunity  of 
doing  it.  That  he  may  be  less  liable  to  be  recaptured 
by  the  enemy,  who  will  no  doubt  make  every  effort  to 
regam  him,  he  had  better  be  conducted  to  this  place 
by  some  upper  road,  rather  than  by  the  route  of 
Crompond.  I  would  not  wish  Mr.  Andre  to  be  treated 
with  insult ,  but  he  does  not  appear  to  stand  upon  the 
footmg  of  a  common  prisoner  of  war,  and  therefore, 
he  is  not  entitled  to  the  usual  indulgences  which  they 
receive,  and  is  to  be  most  closely  and  narrowly 
watched." 

In  the  mean  time,  Mrs.  Arnold  remained  in  her  room 
in  a  state  bordering  on  frenzy.  Arnold  might  well 
confide  in  the  humanity  and  delicacy  of  Washington  in 
respect  to  her.  He  regarded  her  with  the  sincerest 
commiseration,  acquitting  her  of  all  previous  knowledge 
of  her  husband's  guilt.  On  remitting  to  her  by  one  of 
his  aides-de-camp  the  letter  of  her  husband,  written 
from  on  board  of  the  Vulture,  he  informed  her  that  he 
had  done  all  that  depended  upon  himseK  to  have  him 
arrested,  but  not  having  succeeded,  he  experienced  a 
pleasure  in  assuring  her  of  his  safety.* 

A  letter  of  Hamilton's  written  at  the  time,  with 
all  the  sympathies  of  a  young  man,  gives  a  touching 
picture  of  Washington's  first  interview  with  her.  "  She 
for  a  time  entirely  lost  herself.    The  general  went  up  to 

*  Memoirs  of  Lafayette,  i.,  p.  264. 


138  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

see  her,  and  she  upbraided  him  with  being  in  a  plot  to 
murder  her  child.  One  moment  she  raved,  another 
she  melted  into  tears,  sometimes  she  pressed  her  infant 
to  her  bosom,  and  lamented  its  fate  occasioned  by  the 
imprudence  of  its  father,  in  a  manner  that  would  have 
pierced  insensibihty  itself.  All  the  sweetness  of  beauty, 
all  the  loveliness  of  innocence,  all  the  tenderness  of  a 
wife,  and  aU  the  fondness  of  a  mother,  showed  them- 
selves in  her  appearance  and  conduct." 

During  the  brief  time  she  remained  at  the  Robin- 
son House,  she  was  treated  with  the  utmost  deference 
and  delicacy,  but  soon  set  off,  under  a  passport  of 
Washington,  for  her  father's  house  in  Philadelphia. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

AITDBE's  conduct  as  a  prisoner — niS  CONVERSATIONS  WITH  COLONEL 
TALLMADGE — STORT  OF  NATHAN  HALE — ANDRE's  PRISON  AT  TAPPAN 
— CORRESPONDENCE  ON  BTIS  BEHALF — HIS  TRIAL — EXECUTION — RE- 
WARD OF  THE  CAPTORS — REWARD  OF  ARNOLD — HIS  PROCLAMATION 
— ^AFTER  FORTUNES  OF  MRS.   ARNOLD. 

On  the  26th  of  September,  the  day  after  the  treason 
of  Arnold  had  been  revealed  to  Washington,  Andre 
arrived  at  the  Robinson  House,  having  been  brought 
on  in  the  night,  under  escort  and  in  charge  of  Major 
Tallmadge.  Washington  made  many  inquiries  of  the 
major,  but  declined  to  have  the  prisoner  brought  into 
his  presence,  apparently  entertainmg  a  strong  idea  of 
his  moral  obliqmty,  from  the  nature  of  the  scheme  in 
which  he  had  been  engaged  and  the  circumstances 
under  which  he  had  been  arrested. 

The  same  evenmg  he  transmitted  him  to  West 
Pomt,  and  shortly  afterwards,  Joshua  H.  Smith,  who 
had  likewise  been  arrested.  Still,  not  considering 
them  secure  even  there,  he  determined  on  the  following 
day  to  send  them  on  to  the  camp.  In  a  letter  to 
Greene,  he  writes :  "  They  will  be  under  an  escort  of 
horse,  and  I  wish  you  to  have  separate  houses  in  camp 
ready  for  their  reception,  in  which  they  may  be  kept 


140  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

perfectly  secure ;  and  also  strong,  trusty  guards,  trebly 
officered,  that  a  part  may  be  constantly  in  the  room 
with  them.  They  have  not  been  permitted  to  be 
together,  and  must  be  kept  apart.  I  would  wish  the 
room  for  Mr.  Andre  to  be  a  decent  one,  and  that  he 
may  be  treated  with  civility ;  but  that  he  may  be  so 
guarded  as  to  preclude  a  possibility  of  his  escaping, 
which  he  will  certainly  attempt  to  effect,  if  it  shall 
seem  practicable  in  the  most  distant  degree." 

Major  Tallmadge  continued  to  have  charge  of 
Andre.  Not  regarding  him  from  the  same  anxious 
point  with  the  commander-in-chief,  and  having  had 
opportunities  of  acquiring  a  personal  knowledge  of 
him,  he  had  become  fascinated  by  his  engaging  quali- 
ties. "  The  ease  and  affability  of  his  manners,"  writes 
he,  "  polished  by  the  refinement  of  good  society  and  a 
finished  education,  made  him  a  most  delightful  com- 
panion. It  often  drew  tears  from  my  eyes,  to  find  him 
so  agreeable  in  conversation  on  different  subjects,  when 
I  reflected  on  his  future  fate,  and  that  too,  as  I  feared, 
so  near  at  hand." 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  28th,  the  prisoners 
were  embarked  in  a  barge  to  be  conveyed  from  West 
Point  to  King's  Perry.  Tallmadge  placed  Andre  by 
his  side  on  the  after  seat  of  the  barge.  Being  both 
young,  of  equal  rank,  and  prepossessing  manners,  a 
frank  and  cordial  intercourse  had  grown  up  between 
them.  By  a  cartel,  mutually  agreed  upon,  each 
might  put  to  the  other  any  question  not  involving 
a  third  person.  They  were  passing  below  the  rocky 
heights  of  West  Point  and  in  full  view  of  the  fortress, 
when  Tallmadge  asked  Andre  whether  he  would  have 


1780.]  CONVERSATION    OF   ANDEE.  141 

taken  an  active  part  in  the  attack  on  it,  should  Ai-nold's 
plan  have  succeeded.  Andre  promptly  answered  in  the 
afSrmative ;  pointed  out  a  table  of  land  on  the  west 
shore,  where  he  would  have  landed  at  the  liead  of  a 
select  corps,  described  the  route  he  would  have  taken 
up  the  mountain  to  a  height  m  the  rear  of  Fort  Put- 
nam, overlookmg  the  whole  parade  of  West  Point — • 
"and  this  he  did,"  writes  Tallmadge,  "with  much 
greater  exactness  than  I  could  have  done."  This  em- 
inence he  would  have  reached  without  difficulty,  as 
Arnold  would  have  disposed  of  the  garrison  m  such 
manner  as  to  be  capable  of  little  or  no  opposition — 
and  tlien  the  Jcey  of  the  country  loould  have  been  hi  his 
hands,  and  he  would  have  had  the  glory  of  the  splendid 
achievement " 

Tallmadge  fairly  kindled  into  admiration  as  Andj-c, 
with  hereditary  Prench  vivacity,  acted  the  scene  he 
was  describing.  "  It  seemed  to  him,"  he  said,  "  as 
if  Andre  were  entering  the  fort  sword  m  hand." 

He  ventured  to  ask  what  was  to  have  been  his 
reward  had  he  succeeded.  "  Mihtary  glory  was  all  he 
sought.  The  thanks  of  his  general  and  the  approba- 
tion of  his  king  would  have  been  a  rich  reward  for 
such  an  undertaking." 

Tallmadge  was  perfectly  charmed,  but  adds  quietly, 
"I  think  he  further  remarked,  that,  if  he  had  suc- 
ceeded, he  was  to  have  leen  promoted  to  the  rank  of  a 
brigadier -general" 

While  thus  the  prisoner,  confident  of  the  merit  of 
what  he  had  attempted,  kindled  with  the  idea  of  an 
imaginary  triumph,  and  the  youthful  officer  who  had 
him  in  charge,  caught  fire  from  his  enthusiasm,  the 


142  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

barge  glided  through  that  solemn  defile  of  mountains, 
through  which,  but  a  few  days  previously,  Arnold,  the 
panic-stricken  traitor  of  the  drama,  had  fled  like  a 
felon. 

After  disembarking  at  Kmg's  Ferry  near  Stony 
Point,  they  set  off  for  Tappan  under  the  escort  of  a 
body  of  horse.  As  they  approached  the  Clove,  a  deep 
defile  in  the  rear  of  the  Highlands,  Andr6,  who  rode 
beside  TaUmadge,  became  solicitous  to  know  the  opm- 
ion  of  the  latter  as  to  what  would  be  the  result  of  his 
capture,  and  m  what  light  he  would  be  regarded  by 
General  Washington  and  by  a  military  tribimal,  should 
one  be  ordered.  TaUmadge  evaded  the  question  as 
long  as  possible,  but  being  urged  to  a  full  and  explicit 
reply,  gave  it,  he  says,  in  the  following  words.  "  I  had 
a  much-loved  classmate  in  Yale  College,  by  the  name 
of  Nathan  Hale,  who  entered  the  army  in  1775.  Im- 
mediately after  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  General 
Washington  wanted  information  respectmg  the  strength, 
position,  and  probable  movements  of  the  enemy.  Cap- 
tain Hale  tendered  his  services,  went  over  to  Brooldyn 
and  was  taken,  just  as  he  was  passing  the  outposts  of 
the  enemy  on  his  return ,  said  I  with  emphasis — '  Do 
you  remember  the  sequel  of  the  story  ? '  '  Yes,'  said 
Andre.  '  He  was  hanged  as  a  spy  !  But  you  surely 
do  not  consider  his  case  and  mine  alike  ? '  *  Yes,  pre- 
cisely similar ;  and  similar  will  be  your  fate.* "  * 

*  The  fate  of  the  heroic  youth  here  alluded  to,  deserves  a  more  ample  no- 
tice. Bom  in  Coventry,  Connecticut,  June  6th,  1755,  he  entered  Yale  College 
in  1770,  and  graduated  with  some  distinction  in  September,  1773,  having  pre- 
viously contracted  an  engagement  of  marriage  ;  not  unlike  Andr6  in  this  re- 
spect, who  wooed  his  "  Honora"  at  eighteen.  On  quitting  college  he  engaged 
as  a  teacher,  as  is  common  with  young  men  in  New  England,  while  studying 


1780.]  STORY    OP    CAPTAIN    HALE.  143 

''  He  endeavored/'  adds  Tallmadge,  ''  to  answer  my 
remarks,  but  it  was  manifest  he  was  more  troubled  in 
spirit  than  I  had  ever  seen  him  before/' 

"We  stopped  at  the  Clove  to  dine  and  let  the  horse- 

for  a  profession.  His  half-formed  purpose  was  to  devote  himself  to  the  minis- 
try As  a  teacher  of  youth,  he  was  eminently  skilful,  and  equally  appreci- 
ated by  parents  and  pupils.  He  became  universally  popular.  ''  Every  body 
loved  him,"  said  a  lady  of  his  acquaintance,  **  he  was  so  sprightly,  intelligent 
and  kind,  and  so  handsome." 

He  was  teaching  at  New  London,  when  an  express  arrived,  brinfjino;  tidings 
of  the  outbreak  at  Lexington.  A  town  meeting  was  called,  and  Hale  was 
among  the  most  ardent  of  the  speakers,  proposing  an  instant  march  to  the 
scene  of  hostilities,  and  offering  to  volunteer.  *'  A  sense  of  duty,"  writes  he  to 
his  father,  "urges  me  to  sacrifice  every  thing  for  my  country  '* 

He  served  in  the  army  before  Boston  as  a  Lieutenant ;  prevailed  on  his  com- 
pany to  extend  their  term  of  service  by  offering  tliem  his  own  pay,  and  for  his 
good  conduct  received  from  Congress  the  commission  of  captain.  He  com- 
manded a  company  in  Colonel  Knowlton's  regiment  in  the  following  year.  After 
the  disastrous  battle  of  Long  Island,  Washington  applied  to  that  officer  for  a 
competent  person  to  penetrate  the  enemy's  camp,  and  procure  intelligence  of 
their  designs;  a  service  deemed  vital  in  that  dispiriting  crisis.  Hale,  in  the 
ardor  of  patriotism,  volunteered  for  the  unen\iable  enterprise,  though  fully 
aware  of  its  peril,  and  the  consequences  of  capture. 

Assuming  his  old  character  as  schoolmaster,  he  crossed  the  Sound  at  night 
from  Norwalk  to  Huntington  on  Long  Island,  visited  the  British  encampments 
unsuspected,  made  drawings  of  the  enemy's  works,  and  noted  down  memoranda 
in  Latin  of  the  information  he  gathered,  and  then  retraced  his  steps  to  Hunting- 
ton, where  a  boat  was  to  meet  him  and  convey  him  back  to  the  Connecticut 
shore.  Unfortunately  a  British  guard  ship  was  at  that  time  anchored  out  of 
view  in  the  Sound,  and  had  sent  a  boat  on  shore  for  water.  Hale  mistook  it 
for  the  expected  boat,  and  did  not  discover  his  mistake  until  he  found  himself 
in  the  hands  of  enemies.  He  was  stripped  and  searched,  the  plans  and  memo- 
randa were  found  concealed  in  the  soles  of  his  shoes,  and  proved  him  to  be  a  spy. 

He  was  conveyed  to  the  guard  ship,  and  thence  to  New  York,  where  he 
was  landed  on  the  21st  of  September,  the  day  of  the  great  fire.  He  was  taken 
to  General  Howe's  head-quarters,  and,  after  brief  parley  with  his  judge,  or- 
dered for  execution  the  next  morning  at  daybreak — a  sentence  carried  out  by 
the  provost  marshal,  the  brutal  and  infamous  Cunningham,  who  refused  his 
request  for  a  Bible,  and  destroyed  a  letter  he  had  addressed  to  his  mother,  for 
the  reason  afterwards  given  by  himself,  "  that  the  rebels  should  never  know 
they  had  a  man  who  could  die  with  such  firmness."  His  patriot  spirit  shono 
forth  in  his  dying  words, — "  I  only  regret  that  I  have  but  one  life  to  lose  for 
my  country." 


144  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

guard  refresh/'  continues  Tallmadge.  "  While  there, 
Andru  kept  reviewing  his  shabby  dress,  and  finally 
remarked  to  me,  that  he  was  positively  ashamed  to  go 
to  the  head-quarters  of  the  American  army  in  such  a 
plight.  1  called  my  servant  and  directed  him  to  bnng 
my  dragoon  cloak,  which  1  presented  to  Major  Andre. 
This  he  refused  to  take  for  some  time ,  but  I  insisted 
on  it,  and  he  finally  put  it  on  and  rode  in  it  to  Tappan/' 

The  place  which  had  been  prepared  to  receive 
Major  Andre,  is  still  pointed  out  as  the  "76  Stone 
House."  The  caution  which  Washington  had  given  as 
to  his  safe  keeping,  was  strictly  observed  by  Colonel 
Scammel,  the  adjutant-general,  as  may  be  seen  by  his 
orders  to  the  ofiicer  of  the  guards. 

"  ]\Iajor  Andre,  the  prisoner  under  your  guard,  is 
not  only  an  officer  of  distinction  in  the  British  army, 
but  a  man  of  infinite  art  and  address,  who  wiU  leave 
no  means  unattempted  to  make  his  escape  and  avoid 
the  ignominious  death  which  awaits  him.  You  are, 
therefore,  in  addition  to  your  sentries,  to  keep  two 
officers  constantly  in  the  room  with  him,  with  their 
swords  draAvn,  whilst  the  other  officers  who  are  out  of 
the  room  are  constantly  to  keep  walking  the  entry  and 
round  the  sentries,  to  see  that  they  are  alert.  No  per- 
son whatever  to  be  permitted  to  enter  the  room,  or 
speak  with  him,  unless  by  direction  of  the  commander- 
in-chief.  You  are  by  no  means  to  suffer  him  to  go  out 
of  the  room  on  any  pretext  whatever."  * 

The  capture  of  Andr^  caused  a  great  sensation  at 
New  York.     He  was  universally  popular  with  the  army, 

*  From  a  copy  among  tihe  papers  of  General  Hand. 


1780.]  LETTERS    IN    BEHALF    OF    ANDRE.  145 

and  an  especial  favorite  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  The 
latter  addressed  a  letter  to  Washington  on  the  26th, 
clannmg  the  release  of  Andre  on  similar  ground  to  that 
urged  by  Colonel  Robinson ;  his  having  visited  Arnold 
at  the  particular  request  of  that  general  officer,  and 
under  the  sanction  of  a  flag  of  truce  ;  and  his  having 
been  stopped  while  travelling  under  Arnold's  passports. 
The  same  letter  inclosed  one  addressed  by  Arnold  to 
Sir  Henry,  and  intended  as  a  kind  of  certificate  of  the 
innocence  of  Andre.  "  I  commanded  at  the  time  at 
West  Point,"  writes  the  renegade,  "  had  an  undoubted 
right  to  send  my  flag  of  truce  to  Major  Andre,  who 
came  to  me  under  that  protection,  and,  having  held 
conversation  with  him,  I  delivered  him  confidential 
papers  in  my  own  handwriting  to  deliver  to  your 
Excellency.  Thinking  it  much  properer  he  should 
return  by  land,  I  directed  him  to  make  use  of  the 
feigned  name  of  John  Anderson,  under  which  he  had, 
by  my  direction,  come  on  shore,  and  gave  him  my  pass- 
ports to  go  to  the  White  Plains,  on  his  way  to  New 
York.  *  *  «'  *  All  which  I  had  then  a  right  to 
do,  being  in  the  actual  service  of  America,  under  the 
orders  of  General  Washington,  and  commanding-gen- 
eral at  West  Point  and  its  dependencies."  He  con- 
cludes, therefore,  that  Andre  cannot  fail  of  being  imme- 
diately sent  to  New  York. 

Neither  the  official  demand  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
nor  the  impudent  certificate  of  Arnold,  had  any  effect 
on  the  steady  mind  of  Washington.  He  considered 
the  circumstances  under  which  Andre  had  been  taken 
such  as  would  have  justified  the  most  summaiy  pro- 
ceedings, but  he  determined  to  refer  the  case  to  the 

VOL.  IV. — 10 


146  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1T80 

examination  and  decision  of  a  board  of  general  officers, 
which  he  convened  on  the  29th  of  September,  the  day 
after  his  arrival  at  Tappan.  It  was  composed  of  six 
major-generals,  Greene,  Stirling,  St.  Clair,  Lafayette, 
R.  Howe,  and  Steuben ,  and  eight  brigadiers.  Parsons, 
James  Chnton,  Knox,  Glover,  Paterson,  Hand,  Hunt- 
ingdon, and  Stark.  General  Greene,  who  was  well 
versed  in  military  law,  and  was  a  man  of  sound  head 
and  kind  heart,  was  president,  and  Colonel  John  Law- 
rence, judge  advocate-general. 

Colonel  Alexander  Hamilton,  who,  like  Tallmadge, 
had  drawn  to  Andre  in  his  misfortunes,  as  had  most  of 
the  young  American  officers,  gives,  m  letters  to  his 
friends,  many  interesting  particulars  concerning  the 
conduct  of  the  prisoner.  "  When  brought  before  the 
board  of  officers,"  writes  he,  "  he  met  with  every  mark 
of  indidgence,  and  was  required  to  answer  no  interrog- 
atory which  would  even  embarrass  his  feelings.  On 
his  part,  while  he  carefully  concealed  every  thing  that 
might  impHcate  others,  he  frankly  confessed  all  the 
facts  relating  to  himself,  and  upon  his  confession,  with- 
out the  trouble  of  examining  a  witness,  the  board  made 
up  their  report." 

It  briefly  stated  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and 
concluded  with  the  opinion  of  the  court,  that  Major 
Andre,  adjutant-general  of  the  British  army,  ought  to 
be  considered  a  spy  from  the  enemy,  and,  agreeably  to 
the  law  and  usage  of  nations,  ought  to  suffer  death. 
In  a  conversation  with  Hamilton,  Andre  acknowledged 
the  candor,  liberality  and  indulgence  with  which  the 
board  had  conducted  themselves  in  their  painful  in- 
quiry.    He  met  the  result  with  manly  firmness.     "  I 


1780.]  ANDKE   UNDER    SENTENCE.  147 

foresee  my  fate,"  said  he,  "  and  though  I  pretend  not 
to  play  the  hero,  or  to  be  indifferent  about  hfe,  yet  I 
am  reconciled  to  whatever  may  happen  ;  conscious  that 
misfoi-tune,  not  guilt,  has  brought  it  upon  me." 

Even  in  this  situation  of  gathering  horrors,  he 
thought  of  others  more  than  of  himself.  "There  is 
only  one  thing  that  disturbs  my  tranquillity,"  said  he 
to  Hamilton.  "  Sir  Henry  Clinton  has  been  too  good 
to  me,  he  has  been  lavish  of  his  kindness.  I  am 
bound  to  him  by  too  many  obligations,  and  love  him 
too  well,  to  bear  the  thought  that  he  should  reproach 
himself,  or  others  should  reproach  him,  on  the  suppo- 
sition of  my  having  conceived  myself  obliged,  by  his 
instructions,  to  run  the  risk  I  did.  I  would  not  for 
the  world  leave  a  sting  in  his  mmd  that  should  embit- 
ter his  future  days."  He  could  scarce  finish  the  sen- 
tence ;  bursting  into  tears,  in  spite  of  his  efforts  to 
suppress  them,  and  with  difficulty  collected  himself 
enough  afterwards  to  add,  "  I  wish  to  be  permitted  to 
assure  him  that  I  did  not  act  under  this  impression, 
but  submitted  to  a  necessity  imposed  upon  me,  as  con- 
trary to  my  own  inchnation,  as  to  his  wishes." 

His  request  was  complied  with,  and  he  wrote  a 
letter  to  Sir  Henry  Chnton  to  the  above  purport.  He 
made  mention  also  of  his  mother  and  three  sisters,  to 
whom  the  value  of  his  commission  would  be  an  object. 
"  It  is  needless,"  said  he,  "  to  be  more  exphcit  on  this 
subject ;  I  am  persuaded  of  your  Excellency's  good- 
ness.    ^ 

*  The  commission  was  sold  by  Sir  Hemy  Clinton,  for  the  benefit  of  Andre's 
mother  and  sisters.  The  King,  also,  settled  a  pension  on  the  mother,  and  of- 
fered to  confer  the  honor  of  knighthood  on  Andre's  brother,  in  order  to  wipe 
uway  all  stain  from  the  family,  that  the  circumstance  of  his  fate  might  be 
thought  to  occasion^ 


148  LIFE   OF    WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

He  concluded  by  saying,  "  I  receive  the  greatest 
attention  from  his  Excellency,  General  Washington, 
and  from  every  person  under  whose  charge  I  happen 
to  be  placed." 

This  letter  accompanied  one  from  Washington  to 
Sir  Henry  Clmton,  statmg  the  report  of  the  board  of 
inquiry,  omitting  the  sentence.  "  From  these  pro- 
ceedings," observes  he,  "  it  is  evident  that  Major  Andre 
was  employed  in  the  execution  of  measures  very  for- 
eign to  the  objects  of  flags  of  truce,  and  such  as  they 
were  never  meant  to  authorize  in  the  most  distant 
degree ,  and  this  gentleman  confessed  with  the  great- 
est candor,  in  the  course  of  his  examination,  that  it 
was  impossible  for  him  to  suppose  that  he  came  on 
shore  under  the  sanction  of  a  flag." 

Captain  Aaron  Ogden,  a  worthy  officer  of  the  New 
Jersey  line,  was  selected  by  Washington  to  bear  these 
despatches  to  the  enemy's  post  at  Paulus  Hook,  thence 
to  be  conveyed  across  the  Hudson  to  New  York.  Be- 
fore his  departure,  he  called  by  Washington's  request 
on  the  Marquis  Lafayette,  who  gave  him  instructions 
to  sound  the  oflicer  commanding  at  that  post  whether 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  might  not  be  willing  to  deliver  up 
Arnold  in  exchange  for  Andre.  Ogden  arrived  at 
Paulus  Hook  in  the  evening,  and  made  the  suggestion, 
as  if  incidentally,  m  the  course  of  conversation.  The 
officer  demanded  if  he  had  any  authority  from  Wash- 
ington for  such  an  intimation.  "  I  have  no  such  assur- 
ance from  General  Washington,'*  replied  he,  "  but  I 
am  prepared  to  say,  that  if  such  a  proposal  were  made, 
I  believe  it  would  be  accepted,  and  Major  Andr6  set  at 
liberty." 


1Y80.]  QUALITIES    OP   ANDRE.  149 

The  officer  crossed  tlie  river  before  morning,  and 
communicated  the  matter  to  Sir  Henry  Chnton,  but 
the  latter  instantly  rejected  the  expedient  as  incompat- 
ible with  honor  and  military  prmciple. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  character,  appearance,  de- 
portment and  fortunes  of  Andre,  had  interested  the 
feelings  of  the  oldest  and  sternest  soldiers  around  him, 
and  completely  captivated  the  sympathies  of  the  young- 
er ones.  He  was  treated  with  the  greatest  respect  and 
kindness  throughout  his  confinement,  and  his  table  was 
supplied  from  that  of  the  commander-in-chief. 

Hamilton,  who  was  in  daily  intercourse  with  him, 
describes  him  as  well  improved  by  education  and  travel, 
with  an  elegant  turn  of  mind,  and  a  taste  for  the  fine 
arts.  He  had  attained  some  proficiency  in  poetry, 
music,  and  painting.  His  sentiments  were  elevated, 
his  elocution  was  fluent,  his  address  easy,  polite  and 
engaging,  with  a  softness  that  conciliated  affection.  His 
talents  and  accomplishments  were  accompanied,  says 
Hamilton,  by  a  diffidence  that  induced  you  to  give  him 
credit  for  more  than  appeared. 

No  one  felt  stronger  sympathy  in  his  case  than 
Colonel  Tallmadge,  no  doubt  from  the  consideration 
that  he  had  been  the  means  of  bringing  him  into  this 
awful  predicament,  by  inducing  Colonel  Jameson  to 
have  him  conducted  back  when  on  the  way  to  Arnold's 
quarters.  A  letter  lies  before  us,  written  by  Tallmadge 
to  Colonel  Samuel  B.  Webb,  one  of  Washington's 
aides-de-camp  "  Poor  Andre,  who  has  been  under  my 
charge  almost  ever  since  he  was  taken,  has  yesterday 
had  his  trial,  and  though  his  sentence  is  not  known, 
a  disgraceful  death  is  undoubtedly  allotted  him.     By 


150  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780 

heavens,  Colonel  Webb,  I  never  saw  a  man  whose  fate 
I  foresaw  whom  I  so  sincerely  pitied.  He  is  a  young 
fellow  of  the  greatest  accomplishments,  and  was  the 
prime  mmister  of  Sir  Harry  on  all  occasions.  He  has 
unbosomed  his  heart  to  me  so  fully,  and  mdeed  let  me 
know  almost  every  motive  of  his  actions  since  he  came 
out  on  his  late  mission,  that  he  has  endeared  me  to 
him  exceedingly.  Unfortunate  man !  He  will  un- 
doubtedly suffer  death  to-morrow ,  and  though  he 
knows  his  fate,  seems  to  be  as  cheerful  as  if  he  were 
going  to  an  assembly.  I  am  sure  he  will  go  to  the 
gallows  less  fearful  for  his  fate,  and  with  less  concern 
than  I  shall  behold  the  tragedy  Had  he  been  tried 
by  a  court  of  ladies,  he  is  so  genteel,  handsome,  poHte 
a  young  gentleman,  that  I  am  confident  they  would 
have  acquitted  him  But  enough  of  Andre,  who, 
though  he  dies  lamented,  falls  justly." 

The  execution  was  to  have  taken  place  on  the  1st 
of  October,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  ;  but  m  the 
interim  Washington  received  a  second  letter  from  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  dated  September  30th,  expressing  an 
opinion  that  the  board  of  inquiry  had  not  been  rightly 
informed  of  all  the  circumstances  on  which  a  judgment 
ought  to  be  formed,  and  that,  in  order  that  he  might 
be  perfectly  apprised  of  the  state  of  the  matter  before 
he  proceeded  to  put  that  judgment  in  execution,  he 
should  send  a  commission  on  the  following  day,  com- 
posed of  Lieutenant-governor  Elliot,  William  Smith, 
chief  justice  of  the  province,  and  Lieutenant-general 
Robertson,  to  wait  near  Dobbs  Ferry  for  permission 
and  safe  conduct  to  meet  Washington,  or  such  persons 


17S0.]  INTERCESSIONS    FOR   ANDRE.  151 

as  he  should  appoint  to  converse  with  them  on  the 
subject. 

This  letter  caused  a  postponement  of  the  execution, 
and  General  Greene  was  sent  to  meet  the  commissioners 
at  Dobbs  Ferry  They  came  up  in  the  morning  of  the 
1st  of  October,  in  a  schooner,  with  a  flag  of  truce,  and 
were  accompanied  by  Colonel  Beverley  Robinson. 
General  Robertson,  however,  was  the  only  commissioner 
permitted  to  land,  the  others  not  being  military  officers. 
A  long  conference  took  place  between  him  and  General 
Greene,  without  any  agreement  of  opinion  upon  the 
question  at  issue.  Greene  returned  to  camp  promising 
to  report  faithfully  to  Washington  the  arguments  urged 
by  Robertson,  and  to  inform  the  latter  of  the  result. 

A  letter  also  was  dehvered  to  Greene  for  AVashmg- 
ton,  which  Arnold  had  sent  by  the  commissioners,  in 
which  the  traitor  reasserted  the  right  he  had  possessed, 
as  commanding  officer  of  the  department,  to  transact 
all  the  matters  with  which  Andre  was  inculpated,  and 
insisted  that  the  latter  ought  not  to  suffer  for  them. 
"  But,"  added  he,  "  if  after  this  just  and  candid  repre- 
sentation of  Major  Andre's  case,  the  board  of  general 
officers  adhere  to  their  former  opinion,  1  shall  suppose 
it  dictated  by  passion  and  resentment ,  and  if  that 
gentleman  should  suffer  the  seventy  of  their  sentence, 
I  shall  think  myself  bound,  by  every  tie  of  duty  and 
honor,  to  retaliate  on  such  unhappy  persons  of  your 
army  as  may  fall  within  my  power,  that  the  respect  due 
to  flags,  and  to  the  laws  of  nations,  may  be  better  un- 
derstood and  observed.  I  have  further  to  observe,  that 
forty  of  the  principal  inhabitants  of  South  Carolina 
have  justly  forfeited  their  hves,  which  have  hitherto 


152  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

been  spared  by  the  clemency  of  his  Excellency,  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  who  cannot  in  justice  extend  his  mercy 
to  them  any  longer,  if  Major  Andre  suffers  ,  which,  in 
all  probability,  will  open  a  scene  of  blood  at  which  hu- 
manity shudders. 

"  Suffer  me  to  entreat  your  Excellency,  for  your  own 
sake  and  the  honor  of  humanity,  and  the  love  you  have 
of  justice,  that  you  suffer  not  an  unjust  sentence  to 
touch  the  life  of  Major  Andre.  But  if  this  warning 
should  be  disregarded,  and  he  suffer,  I  call  Heaven 
and  earth  to  witness  that  your  Excellency  will  be  justly 
answerable  for  the  torrent  of  blood  that  may  be  spilt 
in  consequence." 

Beside  this  impudent  and  despicable  letter,  there 
was  another  from  Arnold  containing  the  farce  of  a 
resignation,  and  concluding  with  the  following  sentence : 
**  At  the  same  time  I  beg  leave  to  assure  your  Excel- 
lency, that  my  attachment  to  the  true  interest  of  my 
country  is  invariable,  and  that  I  am  actuated  by  the 
same  principle  which  has  ever  been  the  governing  riile 
of  my  conduct  in  this  unhappy  contest." 

The  letters  of  Arnold  were  regarded  with  merited 
contempt.  Greene,  in  a  brief  letter  to  General  Robert- 
son, informed  him  that  he  had  made  as  full  a  report  of 
their  conference  to  the  commander-in-chief,  as  his 
memory  would  serve,  but  that  it  had  made  no  alteration 
in  Washington's  opinion  and  determination.  Robertson 
was  piqued  at  the  brevity  of  the  note,  and  professed  to 
doubt  whether  Greene's  memory  had  served  him  with 
sufficient  fulness  and  exactness  ,  he  addressed  therefore 
to  Washington  his  own  statement  of  his  reasoning  on 


1780.]  AFFECTING   LETTER   OF   ANDRE.  153 

the  subject ;  after  despatching  which  he  and  the  other 
commissioners  returned  in  the  schooner  to  New- 
York. 

During  this  day  of  respite  Andre  had  conducted 
himself  with  his  usual  tranquillity.  A  likeness  of  him 
self,  seated  at  a  table  in  his  guard-room,  which  he 
sketched  with  a  pen  and  gave  to  the  officer  on  guard, 
is  still  extant.  It  being  announced  to  him  that  one 
o'clock  on  the  following  day  was  fixed  on  for  his  ex- 
ecution, he  remarked,  that  since  it  was  his  lot  to  die, 
there  was  still  a  choice  in  the  mode  ;  he  therefore  ad- 
dressed the  following  note  to  Washington. 

Sir  ; — "  Buoyed  above  the  terror  of  death  by  the 
consciousness  of  a  life  devoted  to  honorable  pursuits, 
and  stained  with  no  action  that  can  give  me  remorse, 
I  trust  that  the  request  I  make  to  your  Excellency  at 
this  serious  period,  and  which  is  to  soften  my  last  mo- 
ments, will  not  be  rejected.  Sympathy  towards  a 
soldier  will  surely  induce  your  Excellency  and  a  military 
tribunal  to  adapt  the  mode  of  my  death  to  the  feelings 
of  a  man  of  honor. 

"  Let  me  hope,  sir,  that  if  aught  in  my  character 
impresses  you  with  esteem  towards  me ;  if  aught  in 
my  misfortunes  marks  me  as  the  victim  of  policy  and 
not  of  resentment,  I  shall  experience  the  operation  of 
these  feelings  in  your  breast  by  being  informed  that  I 
am  not  to  die  on  a  gibbet." 

Had  Washington  consulted  his  feelings  merely,  this 
affecting  appeal  might  not  have  been  in  vain,  for,  though 
not  impulsive,  he  was  eminently  benevolent.  Andr^ 
himself  had  testified  to  the  kind  treatment  he  had  ex- 
perienced from  the  commander-in-chief  since  his  cap- 


154  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

ture,  though  no  personal  interview  had  taken  place. 
Washington  had  no  popular  censure  to  apprehend 
should  he  exercise  indulgence,  for  the  popular  feeling 
was  with  the  prisoner.  But  he  had  a  high  and  tena 
cious  sense  of  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  his  po- 
sition, and  never  more  than  in  this  trying  moment, 
when  he  had  to  elevate  himself  above  the  contagious 
sympathies  of  those  around  him,  dismiss  all  personal 
considerations,  and  regard  the  peculiar  curcumstances 
of  the  case.  The  long  course  of  insidious  operations 
which  had  been  pursued  to  undermine  the  loyalty  of  one 
of  his  most  trusted  officers  ;  the  greatness  of  the  evil 
which  the  treason  would  have  effected,  if  successful ; 
the  uncertainty  how  far  the  enemy  had  earned,  or 
might  still  be  carrying,  their  scheme  of  corruption, 
for  anonymous  intimations  spoke  of  treachery  in  other 
quarters ,  all  these  considerations  pointed  this  out  as  a 
case  in  which  a  signal  example  was  required. 

And  what  called  for  particular  indulgence  to  the 
agent,  if  not  instigator  of  this  enormous  crime,  wTio 
had  thus  been  providentially  detected  in  disguise,  and 
with  the  means  of  its  consummation  concealed  upon 
his  person  ?  His  errand,  as  it  has  been  eloquently 
urged,  "  viewed  in  the  light  of  morality,  and  even  of 
that  chivalry  from  which  modern  war  pretends  to  de- 
rive its  maxims,  was  one  of  infamy.  He  had  been 
commissioned  to  buy  with  gold  what  steel  could  not 
conquer ;  to  drive  a  bargain  with  one  ready  for  a  price 
to  become  a  traitor ;  to  count  out  the  thirty  pieces  of 
silver  by  which  British  generals  and  British  gentlemen 
were  not  ashamed  to  purchase  the  betrayal  of  a  cause. 


1780.]  NATURE   OF   ANDBE's   MISSION.  155 

whose  shining  virtue  repelled  their  power,  and  dimmed 
the  glory  of  then*  arms/'  * 

Even  the  language  of  traffic  in  which  this  negotia- 
tion had  been  carried  on  between  the  pseudo-Gustavus 
and  John  Anderson,  had,  as  has  before  been  observed, 
somethmg  ignoble  and  debasing  to  the  chivalrous  aspi- 
rant who  stooped  to  use  it ;  especially  when  used  as  a 
crafty  covering  in  bargaining  for  a  man's  soul.f 

It  has  been  alleged  in  Andre's  behalf,  as  a  mitigat- 
ing circumstance,  that  he  was  involuntarily  a  spy  It 
is  true,  he  did  not  come  on  shore  in  borrowed  garb, 
nor  with  a  design  to  pass  himself  off  for  another,  and 
procure  secret  information  ;  but  he  came,  under  cloak 
of  midnight,  in  supposed  safety,  to  effect  the  betrayal 
of  a  holy  trust;  and  it  was  his  undue  eagerness  to 
secure  the  objects  of  this  clandestine  interview,  that 
brought  him  into  the  condition  of  an  undoubted  spy. 
It  certainly  should  not  soften  our  view  of  his  mission, 
that  he  embarked  in  it  without  intending  to  subject 
himself  to  danger.  A  spice  of  danger  would  have  given 
it  a  spice  of  heroism,  however  spurious.  When  the 
rendezvous  was  first  projected,  he  sought,  through  an 
indirect  channel,  to  let  Arnold  know  that  he  would 
come  out  with  a  flag.  (We  allude  to  a  letter  written  by 
him  from  New  York  on  the  7th  of  September,  under 
his  feigned  signature,  to  Colonel  Sheldon;   evidently 

*  Speech  of  the  Hon.  Heniy  J.  Raymond,  at  the  dedication  of  the  Andr6 
monument. 

t  See  letter  of  Gustavus  to  John  Anderson.  "  My  partner  of  whom  I  hinted 
in  a  former  letter,  has  about  ten  thouiand  pounds  cash  in  hand,  ready  for  n 
speculation,  if  any  should  offer ;  I  have  also  one  thousand  pounds  in  hand,  and 
can  collect  fifteen  hundred  more  in  two  or  three  days.  Add  to  this,  I  have 
Bomo  credit.  From  these  hints  you  con  judge  of  the  purchase  that  can  be 
made." 


156  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

intended  to  be  seen  by  Arnold ;  "  I  will  endeavor  to 
obtain  permission  to  go  out  with  a  flag.")  If  an  in- 
terview had  taken  place  under  that  sacred  protection, 
and  a  triumphant  treason  had  been  the  result,  what  a 
brand  it  would  have  affixed  to  Andre's  name,  that  h 
had  prostituted  a  flag  of  truce  to  such  an  end. 

We  dwell  on  these  matters,  not  to  check  the  senti- 
ment of  sympathy  awakened  m  Andre's  behalf  by  his 
personal  qualities,  but  to  vindicate  the  fair  name  of 
Washington  from  that  "  blot "  which  some  have  at- 
tempted to  cast  upon  it,  because,  in  exercising  his 
stern  duty  as  protector  of  the  public  weal,  during  a 
time  of  secret  treason,  he  listened  to  policy  and  justice 
rather  than  mercy  In  doing  so,  he  took  counsel  with 
some  of  his  general  officers.  Their  opinions  coincided 
with  his  own — ^that  under  present  circumstances,  it  was 
important  to  give  a  signal  warning  to  the  enemy,  by  a 
rigorous  observance  of  the  rules  of  war  and  the  usages 
of  nations  in  like  cases.* 

But  although  Andre's  request  as  to  the  mode  of  his 
death  was  not  to  be  granted,  it  was  thought  best  to  let 
him  remain  in  uncertainty  on  the  subject ,  no  answer, 
therefore,  was  returned  to  his  note.     On  the  morning 


*  We  subjoin  a  British  officer's  view  of  Andr6*8  case,  "  He  was  tried  by  a 
board  of  general  officers  as  a  spy,  and  condemned  to  be  hanged.  The  Ameri- 
can general  has  been  censured  for  directing  this  ignominious  sentence  to  bo 
carried  into  execution ;  but  doubtless  Major  Andr6  was  well  aware  when  he 
nndertook  the  negotiation,  of  the  fate  that  awaited  him  should  he  fall  into  the 
bands  of  the  enemy.  The  laws  of  war  award  to  spies  the  punishment  of  death. 
It  would,  therefore,  be  difficult  to  assign  a  reason  why  Major  Andr6  should 
have  been  exempted  from  that  fate  to  which  all  others  are  doomed  under  simi- 
lar circumstances,  although  the  amiable  qualities  of  the  man  rendered  the  in- 
dividual case  a  subject  of  peculiar  commiseration." — Origin  and  Services  of  th« 
Coldstream  Guards :  by  Col.  MacKinnon,  vol.  ii.,  p.  9. 


1780.]  THE   EXECUTION.  157 

of  the  2d,  he  maintained  a  calm  demeanor,  though  all 
around  hrni  were  gloomy  and  silent.  He  even  rebuked 
his  servant  for  sheddmg  tears.  Having  breakfasted, 
he  dressed  himself  with  care  in  the  full  uniform  of  a 
British  officer,  which  he  had  sent  for  to  New  York, 
placed  his  hat  upon  the  table,  and  accostmg  the  officers 
on  guard — ■"  I  am  ready,"  said  he,  "  at  any  moment, 
gentlemen,  to  wait  upon  you." 

He  walked  to  the  place  of  execution  between  two 
subaltern  officers,  arm  in  arm,  with  a  serene  counte- 
nance, bowing  to  several  gentlemen  whom  he  knew. 
Colonel  Tallmadge  accompanied  him,  and  we  quote  his 
words.  "  When  he  came  within  sight  of  the  gibbet, 
he  appeared  to  be  startled,  and  inquired  with  some 
emotion  whether  he  was  not  to  be  shot.  Being  in- 
formed that  the  mode  first  appointed  for  his  death 
could  not  consistently  be  altered,  he  exclaimed,  *  How 
hard  is  my  fate  !  * .  but  immediately  added,  '  it  wiU 
soon  be  over.'  I  then  shook  hands  with  him  under 
the  gallows,  and  retired."  * 

While  waiting  near  the  gallows  until  preparations 
were  made,  says  another  authority,  who  was  present, 
he  evinced  some  nervousness,  putting  his  foot  on  a 
stone  and  rolling  it ,  and  making  an  effort  to  swallow, 
as  if  checking  an  hysterical  affection  of  the  throat. 
All  things  being  ready,  he  stepped  into  the  waggon  ; 
appeared  to  shrink  for  an  instant,  but  recovering  him- 
self, exclaimed  :  "  It  will  be  but  a  momentary  pang !  " 

Taking  off  his  hat  and  stock,  and  opening  his  shirt 
collar,  he  deliberately  adjusted  the  noose  to  his  neck, 

*  MSS.  of  Col.  B.  Tallmadge  in  possession  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  J.  P  Cuah- 
man,  of  Troy,  N.  Y. 


158  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

after  which  he  took  out  a  handkerchief  and  tied  it  over 
his  eyes.  Being  told  by  the  officer  in  command  that 
his  arms  must  be  bound,  he  drew  out  a  second  hand- 
kerchief with  which  they  were  pinioned.  Colonel 
Scammel  now  told  him  that  he  had  an  opportunity  to 
speak,  if  he  desired  it.  His  only  reply  was,  "  I  pray 
you  to  bear  witness  that  I  meet  my  fate  hke  a  brave 
man."  The  waggon  moved  from  under  him,  and  left 
him  suspended.  He  died  almost  without  a  struggle,  f 
He  remained  suspended  for  about  half  an  hour,  during 
which  time  a  deathlike  stillness  prevailed  over  the  sur- 
rounding multitude.  His  remains  were  interred  within 
a  few  yards  of  the  place  of  his  execution  ;  whence  they 
were  transferred  to  England  in  1821,  by  the  British 
consul,  then  resident  in  New  York,  and  were  buried  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  near  a  mural  monument  which 
had  been  erected  to  his  memory. 

Never  has  any  man,  suffering,  under  like  circum- 
stances, awakened  a  more  universal  sympathy  even 
among  those  of  the  country  against  which  he  had  prac- 
tised. His  story  is  one  of  the  touching  themes  of  the 
Revolution,  and  his  name  is  still  spoken  of  with  kind- 
ness in  the  local  traditions  of  the  neighborhood  where 
he  was  captured. 

Washington,  in  a  letter  to  the  President  of  Con- 
gress, passed  a  high  eulogium  on  the  captors  of  Andr6, 
and  recommended  them  for  a  handsome  gratuity ;  for 
having,  in  all  probability,  prevented  one  of  the  severest 
strokes  that  could  have  been  meditated  by  the  enemy. 
Congress  accordingly  expressed,  in  a  formal  vote,  a  high 

•  Thatcher's  Military  Journal,  p.  275. 


1780.]  REWARD    OF   THE    CAPTORS.  159 

sense  of  their  virtuous  and  patriotic  conduct ;  award- 
ed to  each  of  them  a  farm,  a  pension  for  life  of  two 
hundred  dollars,  and  a  silver  medal,  bearing  on  one 
side  an  escutcheon  on  which  was  engraved  the  word 
Fidelity,  and  on  the  other  side  the  motto,  Vincit  amor 
Patrice  These  medals  were  delivered  to  them  by 
General  Washington  at  head-quarters,  with  impressive 
ceremony. 

Isaac  Van  Wart,  one  of  the  captors,  had  been  pres- 
ent at  the  execution  of  Andre,  and  was  deeply  affected 
by  it.  He  was  not  fond  of  recalling  the  subject,  and, 
in  after  life,  could  rarely  speak  of  Andre  without  tears. 

Joshua  H.  Smith,  who  aided  in  bnnging  Andre 
and  Arnold  together,  was  tried  by  a  court-martial,  on 
a  charge  of  participating  in  the  treason,  but  was  ac- 
quitted, no  proof  appearing  of  his  having  had  any 
knowledge  of  Arnold's  plot,  though  it  was  thought  he 
must  have  been  conscious  of  something  wrong  m  an 
interview  so  mysteriously  conducted. 

Arnold  was  now  made  brigadier-general  in  the  Brit- 
ish service,  and  put  on  an  official  level  with  honorable  men 
who  scorned  to  associate  with  the  traitor.  What  golden 
reward  he  was  to  have  received  had  his  treason  been 
successful,  is  not  known  ;  but  six  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  fifteen  pounds  sterling  were  paid  to  him,  as  a 
compensation  for  losses  which  he  pretended  to  have 
suffered  in  going  over  to  the  enemies  of  his  country. 

The  vilest  culprit,  however,  shrinks  from  sustaining 
the  obloquy  of  his  crimes.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  in 
New  York,  Arnold  published  an  address  to  the  Inhab- 
itants of  America,  in  which  he  endeavored  to  vindicate 
his  conduct.    He  alleged  that  he  had  originally  taken  up 


160  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

arms  merely  to  aid  in  obtaming  a  redress  of  grievances. 
He  had  considered  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
precipitate,  and  the  reasons  for  it  obviated,  by  the  sub- 
sequent proffers  of  the  British  government,  and  he 
inveighed  against  Congress  for  rejecting  those  offers, 
without  submitting  them  to  the  people 

Finally,  the  treaty  with  France,  a  proud,  ancient  and 
crafty  foe,  the  enemy  of  the  Protestant  faith  and  of 
real  liberty,  had  completed,  he  said,  the  measure  of  his 
indignation,  and  determined  him  to  abandon  a  cause 
sustained  by  iniquity  and  controlled  by  usurpers. 

Beside  this  address,  he  issued  a  proclamation  in- 
viting the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  American  army, 
who  had  the  real  interest  of  their  country  at  heart,  and 
who  were  determined  to  be  no  longer  the  tools  and 
dupes  of  Congress  and  of  France,  to  rally  under  the 
royal  standard,  and  fight  for  true  American  liberty , 
holding  out  promises  of  large  bounties  and  liberal  sub- 
sistence, with  compensation  for  all  the  implements 
and  accoutrements  of  war  they  might  bring  with 
them. 

Speaking  of  this  address,  "  I  am  at  a  loss,"  said 
Washington,  "  which  to  admire  most,  the  confidence  of 
Arnold  in  publishing  it,  or  the  folly  of  the  enemy  in 
supposing  that  a  production  signed  by  so  infamous  a 
character  will  have  any  weight  with  the  people  of  these 
States,  or  any  influence  upon  our  officers  abroad."  He 
was  right.  Both  the  address  and  the  proclamation 
were  regarded  by  Americans  with  the  contempt  they 
merited.  None  ralHed  to  the  standard  of  the  renegade 
but  a  few  deserters  and  refugees,  who  were  already 


1780.]  ARNOLD    DESTITUTE    OF    FEELING.  161 

within  the  British  hnes,  and  prepared  for  any  desperate 
or  despicable  service.* 

Colonel  John  Laurens,  former  aide-de-camp  to 
Washington,  in  speaking  of  Andre's  fate,  observed, 
'•  Arnold  must  undergo  a  punishment  comparatively 
more  severe,  in  the  permanent,  increasing  torment  of  a 
mental  hell/'  Washington  doubted  it.  "  He  wants 
feeling,''  said  he.  ''  Prom  some  traits  of  his  character 
which  have  lately  come  to  my  knowledge,  he  seems  to 
have  been  so  hackneyed  in  villainy,  and  so  lost  to  all 
sense   of    honor  and  shame,  that,  while  his  faculties 

*  The  following  passages  of  a  letter  written  by  Sir  Thomas  Romilly  in 
London,  Dec.  12,  1780,  to  the  Rev.  John  Roget,  are  worthy  of  citation: 

**  What  do  you  think  of  Arnold's  conduct?  you  may  well  suppose  he  does 
not  want  advocates  here.  I  cannot  join  with  them.  If  he  thought  the  Amer- 
icans not  justified  in  continuing  the  war,  after  the  offer  of  such  favoraMe  terms 
as  the  commissioners  held  out  to  them,  why  did  he  keep  his  command  for  two 
years  afterwards  ?     *     *     *     * 

*'  The  arguments  used  by  Clinton  and  Arnold  in  their  letters  to  Washington, 
to  prove  that  Andre  could  not  be  considered  as  a  spy,  are,  first,  that  he  had 
with  him,  when  he  was  taken,  a  protection  of  Arnold,  who  was  at  that  time 
acting  under  a  commission  of  the  Congress,  and,  therefore,  competent  to  give 
protections.  Certainly  he  was,  to  all  strangers  to  his  negotiations  with  Clin- 
ton, but  not  to  Andre,  who  knew  him  to  be  at  that  time  a  traitor  to  the  Con- 
gress— nay,  more,  whose  protection  was  granted  for  no  other  purpose  but  to 
promote  and  give  effect  to  his  treachery.  In  the  second  place,  they  say  that 
at  the  time  he  was  taken  he  was  upon  neutral  ground ;  but  they  do  not  deny 
that  he  had  been  within  the  American  lines  in  disguise.     The  letters  written 

by  Andre  himself,  show  a  firm,  cool  intrepidity,  worthy  a  more  glorious  end. 
*     «     «     ^     «     « 

"  The  fate  of  this  unfortunate  young  man,  and  the  manly  style  of  his  letters,  have 
raised  more  compassion  here  than  the  loss  of  thousands  in  battle,  and  have  ex- 
cited a  warmer  indignation  against  the  Americans,  than  any  former  act  of  the 
Congress.  When  the  passions  of  men  are  so  deeply  affected,  you  will  not  ex- 
pect to  find  them  keep  within  the  bounds  of  reason.  Panegyrics  of  the  gal- 
lant Andr6  are  unbounded ;  they  call  him  the  English  Mutius,  and  talk  of 
erecting  monuments  to  his  memory.  Certainly,  no  man  in  his  situation  could 
have  behaved  with  more  determined  courage ;  but  his  situation  was  by  no 
means  such  as  to  admit  of  these  exaggerated  praises." 
VOL.  IV. 11 


162  LIFE    OP   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

will  enable  him  to  continue  his  sordid  pursuits,  there 
will  be  no  time  for  remorse."  And  in  a  letter  to 
Governor  Reed,  Washington  writes,  ^'Arnold's  con- 
duct is  so  villanously  perfidious,  that  there  are  no 
terms  that  can  describe  the  baseness  of  his  heart. 
That  overruling  Providence  which  has  so  often  and 
so  remarkably  interposed  in  our  favor,  never  manifested 
itself  more  conspicuously  than  in  the  timely  discovery 
of  his  horrid  intention  to  surrender  the  post  and 
garrison  of  West  Point  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
******  The  confidence  and  folly  which 
have  marked  the  subsequent  conduct  of  this  man,  are 
of  a  piece  with  his  villamy,  and  all  three  are  perfect  in 
their  kind.'' 


NOTE. 

Tho  following  fragment  of  a  letter  from  Arnold's  mother  to  him  in  early 
life,  was  recently  put  into  our  hands.  Well  would  it  have  been  for  him  had  he 
adhered  to  its  pious,  though  humble  counsels. 

Norwich  April  12  1754. 
**  dear  childe.  I  received  yours  of  1  instant  and  was  glad  to  hear  that  yon 
was  well :  pray  my  dear  let  your  first  consem  be  to  make  your  pease  with 
god  as  itt  is  of  all  consems  of  y  greatest  importence.  Keep  a  stedy  watch 
over  your  thoughts,  words  and  actions,  be  dutifull  to  superiors  obliging  to 
equalls  and  affibel  to  inferiors,     ***** 

from  your  afectionate 

Hannah  Arnold. 

P.  S.  I  have  sent  you  fifty  shillings  youse  itt  prudently  as  you  are 
acountabell  to  God  and  your  father.  Your  father  and  aunt  joyns  with  me  in 
love  and  servis  to  Mr  CogswcU  and  ladey  and  yourself  Your  sister  is  from 
home. 

To  Mr 

benedict  amold 
your  father  put  at 

twenty  more  canterbury 


1Y80.]  FORTUNES   OF   MES.    ARNOLD.  163 

Mrs.  Arnold,  on  arriving  at  her  father's  house  in 
Philadelphia,  had  decided  on  a  separation  from  her  hus- 
band, to  whom  she  could  not  endure  the  thoughts  of 
returning  after  his  dishonor.  This  course,  however, 
was  not  allowed  her.  The  executive  council,  wrong- 
fully suspecting  her  of  having  aided  in  the  correspond- 
ence between  her  husband  and  Andre,  knowing  its 
treasonable  tendency,  ordered  her  to  leave  the  State 
within  fourteen  days,  and  not  to  return  durmg  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  war.  "  We  tried  every  means,"  writes 
one  of  her  connections,  "  to  prevail  on  the  council  to 
permit  her  to  stay  among  us,  and  not  to  compel  her  to 
go  to  that  infernal  villain,  her  husband.*  Mr.  Shippen 
(her  father)  had  promised  the  council,  and  Mrs.  Arnold 
had  signed  a  writing  to  the  same  purpose,  engaging 
not  to  write  to  General  Arnold  any  letters  whatever, 
and  to  receive  no  letters  without  showing  them  to  the 
council,  if  she  was  permitted  to  stay."  It  was  all  in 
vain,  and  strongly  against  her  will,  she  rejoined  her 
husband  in  New  York.  His  fear  for  her  personal 
safety  from  the  fury  of  the  people  proved  groundless. 
That  scrupulous  respect  for  the  female  sex,  so  prevalent 
throughout  the  United  States,  was  her  safeguard. 
While  the  whole  country  resounded  with  execrations 
of  her  husband's  guilt ;  while  his  effigy  was  dragged 
through  the  streets  of  town  and  village,  burnt  at  the 
stake,  or  swung  on  the  gibbet,  she  passed  on  secure  from 
mjury  or  insult.  The  execrations  of  the  populace  were 
silenced  at  her  approach.  Arriving  at  nightfall  at  a 
village  where  they  were  preparing  for  one  of  these 

*  Lettera  and  Papers  relating  to  the  Provincial  Hist,  of  Pennsylvania, 
p.  Ixiv. 


164  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

burnings  in  effigy,  the  pyre  remained  unkindled,  the 
people  dispersed  quietly  to  their  homes,  and  the  wife  of 
the  traitor  was  suffered  to  sleep  in  peace. 

She  returned  home  but  once,  about  five  years  after 
her  exile,  and  was  treated  with  such  coldness  and  neg- 
lect that  she  declared  she  never  could  come  again.  In 
England  her  charms  and  virtues,  it  is  said,  procured 
her  sympathy  and  friendship,  and  helped  to  sustain 
the  social  position  of  her  husband,  who,  however,  was 
''generally  slighted,  and  sometimes  insulted."*  She 
died  in  London,  in  the  winter  of  1796.  In  recent 
years  it  has  been  maintained  that  Mrs.  Arnold  was 
actually  cognizant  and  participant  of  her  husband's 
crime ;  but,  after  carefully  examining  all  the  proofs  ad- 
duced, we  remain  of  opinion  that  she  was  innocent. 

We  have  been  induced  to  enter  thus  largely  into 
the  circumstances  of  this  story,  from  the  imdiminished 
interest  taken  in  it  by  the  readers  of  American  history. 
Indeed,  a  romance  has  been  thro^vn  around  the  mem- 
ory of  the  unfortunate  Andre,  which  increases  with  the 
progress  of  years  ;  while  the  name  of  Arnold  will  stand 
sadly  conspicuous  to  the  end  of  time,  as  the  only 
American  officer  of  note,  throughout  all  the  trials  and 
vicissitudes  of  the  Revolution,  who  proved  traitor  to 
the  glorious  cause  of  his  country. 

*  Letters  and  Papers  of  Prov.  Hist.  PenosjlTania,  Ixvi. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

OEEENE  TAKES  OOMMAND  AT  WEST  POINT — ^INSIDIOtTS  ATIEMPTS  tO 
SHAKE  THE  OONFIDENOK  OF  WASHINGTON  IN  HIS  OFFICERS — PLAN 
TO  ENTRAP  ARNOLD — CHARACTER  OF  SERGEANT  CHAMPE — OOTJET 
OF  INQUIRT  INTO  THE  CONDUCT  OF  GATES — GRBBNE  APPOINTED 
TO  THE  SOTJTHEEN  DEPARTMENT — WASHINGTON'S  INSTRUCTIONS  TO 
HIM — INCURSIONS  FROM  CANADA — MOHAWK  VALLEY  RAVAGED— 
STATE  OP  THE  ARMY — EEFOEMS  ADOPTED^ENLISTMENT  FOE  THE 
WAE— HALF  PAT. 

As  the  enemy  would  now  possess  the  means,  through 
Arnold,  of  informing  themselves  thoroughly  about 
West  Point,  Washington  hastened  to  have  the  works 
completed  and  strongly  garrisoned.  Major-general 
Greene  was  ordered  to  march  with  the  Jersey,  New 
York,  New  Hampshire,  and  Stark's  brigades,  and 
take  temporary  command  (ultimately  to  be  transferred 
to  General  Heath),  and  the  Pennsylvania  troops,  which 
had  been  thrown  into  the  fortress  at  the  time  of 
Arnold's  desertion,  were  reUeved.  Washington  himself 
took  post  with  his  main  army,  at  Prakeness,  near  Pas- 
saic Falls  in  New  Jersey. 

Insidious  attempts  had  been  made  by  anonymous 
papers,  and  other  means,  as  we  have  already  hinted,  to 
shake  the  confidence  of  the  commander-in-chief  in  his 


166  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

officers,  and  especially  to  implicate  General  St.  Clair  in 
the  late  conspiracy.  Washington  was  exceedingly  dis- 
turbed in  mind  for  a  time,  and  engaged  Major  Henry 
Lee,  who  was  stationed  with  his  dragoons  on  the  lines, 
to  probe  the  matter  through  secret  agents  in  New 
York.  The  result  proved  the  utter  falsehood  of  these 
insinuations. 

At  the  time  of  making  this  inquiry,  a  plan  was 
formed  at  Washington's  suggestion  to  get  possession  of 
the  person  of  Arnold.  The  agent  pitched  upon  by  Lee 
for  the  purpose,  was  the  sergeant-major  of  cavalry  in 
his  legion,  John  Champe  by  name,  a  young  Virginian 
about  twenty -four  years  of  age,  whom  he  describes  as 
being  rather  above  the  middle  size — ^fuU  of  bone  and 
muscle ,  with  a  saturnine  countenance,  grave,  thought- 
ful, and  taciturn,  of  tried  loyalty  and  inflexible  courage. 
By  many  promises  and  much  persuasion,  Lee  brought 
him  to  engage  in  the  attempt.  "  I  have  incited  his 
thirst  for  fame,"  writes  he,  "  by  impressing  on  his  mind 
the  virtue  and  glory  of  the  act." 

Champe  was  to  make  a  pretended  desertion  to  the 
enemy  ^t  New  York.  There  he  was  to  enlist  in  a  corps 
which  Arnold  was  raising,  insinuate  himself  into  some 
menial  or  military  situation  about  his  person,  and, 
watching  for  a  favorable  moment,  was,  with  the  aid  of 
a  confederate  from  Newark,  to  seize  him  in  the  night, 
gag  him,  and  bring  him  across  the  Hudson  into  Ber- 
gen woods  in  the  Jerseys. 

Washington,  in  approving  the  plan,  enjoined  and 
stipulated  that  Arnold  should  be  brought  to  him  alive. 
"  No  circumstance  whatever,"  said  he,  "  shall  obtain 
my  consent  to  his  being  put  to  death.    The  idea  which 


1780.]       SCHEME  TO  ENTRAP  ARNOLD.        167 

would  accompany  such  an  event,  would  be,  that  ruf- 
fians had  been  hired  to  assassinate  him.  My  aim  is  to 
make  a  public  example  of  him,  and  this  should  be 
strongly  impressed  upon  those  who  are  employed  to 
bring  him  off." 

The  pretended  desertion  of  the  sergeant  took  place 
on  the  night  of  October  20th,  and  was  attended  with 
difficulties.  He  had  to  evade  patrols  of  horse  and 
foot,  beside  stationary  guards  and  irregular  scouting 
parties.  Major  Lee  could  render  him  no  assistance 
other  than  to  delay  pursuit,  should  his  departure  be 
discovered.  About  eleven  o'clock  the  sergeant  took  his 
cloak,  valise,  and  orderly  book,  drew  his  horse  from  the 
picket,  and  mounting,  set  out  on  his  hazardous  course, 
while  the  major  retired  to  rest. 

He  had  not  been  in  bed  half  an  hour,  when  Cap- 
tain Games,  officer  of  the  day,  hurrying  into  his  quar- 
ters, gave  word  that  one  of  the  patrols  had  fallen  in 
with  a  dragoon,  who,  on  being  challenged,  put  spurs  to 
his  horse,  and  escaped.  Lee  pretended  to  be  annoyed 
by  the  intrusion,  and  to  believe  that  the  pretended  dra- 
goon was  some  countryman  of  the  neighborhood.  The 
captain  was  piqued ,  made  a  muster  of  the  dragoons, 
and  returned  with  word  that  the  sergeant-major  was 
missing,  who  had  gone  off  with  horse,  baggage,  arms, 
and  orderly  book. 

Lee  was  now  compelled  to  order  out  a  party  in 
pursuit  under  Cornet  Middleton,  but  in  so  doing,  he 
contrived  so  many  delays,  that,  by  the  time  they  were 
in  the  saddle,  Champe  had  an  hour's  start.  His  pur- 
suers, too,  were  obhged  in  the  course  of  the  night,  to 
halt  occasionally,  dismount  and  examine  the  road,  to 


168  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

guide  themselves  by  the  horses'  tracks.  At  daybreak 
they  pressed  forward  more  rapidly,  and  from  the  sum- 
mit of  a  hill  descried  Champe,  not  more  than  half  a 
mile  in  front.  The  sergeant  at  the  same  moment 
caught  sight  of  his  pursuers,  and  now  the  chase  be- 
came desperate.  Champe  had  originally  intended  to 
make  for  Paulus  Hook,  but  changed  his  course,  threw 
his  pursuers  at  fault,  and  succeeded  in  getting  abreast 
of  two  British  galleys  at  anchor  near  the  shore  beyond 
Bergen.  He  had  no  time  to  lose.  Comet  Middleton 
was  but  two  or  three  hundred  yards  behind  him. 
Throwing  himself  off  his  horse,  and  running  through 
a  marsh,  he  plunged  into  the  river,  and  called  to  the 
galleys  for  help.  A  boat  was  sent  to  his  assistance, 
and  he  was  conveyed  on  board  of  one  of  those  vessels. 

Por  a  time,  the  whole  plan  promised  to  be  success- 
ful. Champe  enlisted  in  Arnold's  corps  ,  was  employed 
about  his  person  ;  and  every  arrangement  was  made  to 
surprise  him  at  night  in  a  garden  in  the  rear  of  his 
quarters,  convey  him  to  a  boat,  and  ferry  him  across 
the  Hudson.  On  the  appointed  night,  Lee,  with  three 
dragoons  and  three  led  horses,  was  in  the  woods  of 
Hoboken  on  the  Jersey  shore,  waiting  to  receive  the 
captive.  Hour  after  hour  passed  away, — ^no  boat  ap- 
proached,— day  broke ;  and  the  major,  with  his  dra- 
goons and  his  led  horses,  returned  perplexed  and  dis- 
appointed to  the  camp. 

Washington  was  extremely  chagrined  at  the  issue 
of  the  undertaking,  fearing  that  the  sergeant  had  been 
detected  in  the  last  scene  of  his  perilous  and  difficult 
enterprise.  It  subsequently  proved,  that  on  the  day 
preceding  the  night  fixed  on  for  the  capture,  Arnold 


1780.]        GREENE   TO   COMMAND   AT  THE   SOUTH.        169 

had  removed  his  quarters  to  another  part  of  the  town, 
to  superintend  the  embarkation  of  troops,  preparing 
(as  was  rumored)  for  an  expedition  to  be  directed  by 
himself,  and  that  the  American  legion,  consisting  chiefly 
of  American  deserters,  had  been  transferred  from  their 
barracks  to  one  of  the  transports.  Among  the  troops 
thus  transferred  was  John  Champe  ,  nor  was  he  able 
for  a  long  time  to  effect  his  escape,  and  resume  his  real 
character  of  a  loyal  and  patriotic  soldier.  He  was 
rewarded  when  he  did  so,  by  the  munificence  of  the 
commander-in-ch^f,  and  the  admiration  of  his  old 
comrades  in  arms  having  so  nobly  braved,  in  his 
country's  cause,  not  merely  danger,  but  a  long  course 
of  obloquy. 

We  have  here  to  note  the  altered  fortunes  of  the 
once  prosperous  General  Gates.  His  late  defeat  at 
Camden  had  withered  the  laurels  snatched  at  Saratoga. 
As  in  the  one  instance  he  had  received  exaggerated 
praise,  so  in  the  other,  he  suffered  undue  censure. 
The  sudden  annihilation  of  an  array  from  which  so 
much  had  been  expected,  and  the  retreat  of  the  gene- 
ral before  the  field  was  absolutely  lost,  appeared  to 
demand  a  strict  investigation.  Congress  therefore 
passed  a  resolution  (October  5th),  requiring  Washing- 
ton to  order  a  court  of  inquiry  into  the  conduct  of 
Gates  as  commander  of  the  Southern  army,  and  to 
appoint  some  other  officer  to  the  command  until  the 
inquiry  should  be  made.  Washington  at  once  selected 
Greene  for  the  important  trust,  the  well-tried  officer 
whom  he  would  originally  have  chosen,  had  his  opinion 
been  consulted,  when  Congress  so  unadvisedly  gave 
the  command  to  Gates.    In  the  present  instance,  his 


170  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

choice  was  in  concurrence  with  the  expressed  wishes 
of  the  delegates  of  the  three  Southern  States,  conveyed 
to  him  by  one  of  their  number. 

Washington's  letter  of  instructions  to  Greene  (Oc- 
tober 22d)  showed  the  implicit  confidence  he  reposed 
in  the  abilities  and  integrity  of  that  excellent  officer. 
"  Uninformed  as  I  am,"  writes  he,  "  of  the  enemy's 
force  in  that  quarter,  of  our  own,  or  of  the  resources 
which  it  will  be  in  our  power  to  command,  for  carrying 
on  the  war,  I  can  give  you  no  particular  instructions,  but 
must  leave  you  to  govern  yourself  entirely  according  to 
your  own  prudence  and  judgment,  and  the  circum- 
stances m  which  you  find  yourself.  I  am  aware  that 
the  nature  of  the  command  will  offer  you  embarrass- 
ments of  a  singular  and  compHcated  nature,  but  I  rely 
upon  your  abilities  and  exertions  for  every  thmg  your 
means  will  enable  you  to  effect." 

With  regard  to  the  court  of  inquiry,  it  was  to  be 
conducted  in  the  quarter  in  which  Gates  had  acted, 
where  all  the  witnesses  were,  and  where  alone  the 
requisite  information  could  be  obtained.  Baron  Steu- 
ben, who  was  to  accompany  Greene  to  the  South,  was 
to  preside,  and  the  members  of  the  court  were  to  be 
such  general  and  field-officers  of  the  Continental  troops 
as  were  not  present  at  the  battle  of  Camden,  or,  hav- 
ing been  present,  were  not  wanted  as  witnesses,  or 
were  persons  to  whom  General  Gates  had  no  objection. 
The  affair  was  to  be  conducted  with  the  greatest  im- 
partiality, and  with  as  much  despatch  as  circumstan- 
ces would  permit. 

Washington  concludes  his  letter  of  instructions  to 
Greene,  with  expressions  dictated  by  friendship  as  well 


1780.]  INCURSIONS   FROM   CANADA.  171 

as  official  duty.  "  You  will  keep  me  constantly  ad- 
vised of  the  state  of  your  affairs,  and  of  every  material 
occurrence.  My  warmest  wishes  for  your  success, 
reputation,  health  and  happiness  accompany  you." 

Ravaging  incursions  from  Canada  had  harassed 
tlie  northern  parts  of  the  State  of  New  York  of  late, 
and  laid  desolate  some  parts  of  the  country  from  which 
Washington  had  hoped  to  receive  great  supplies  of  flour 
for  the  armies.  Major  Carleton,  a  nephew  of  Sir  Guy, 
at  the  head  of  a  motley  force,  European,  Tory,  and 
Indian,  had  captured  Forts  Anne  and  George.  Sir 
John  Johnson  also,  with  Joseph  Brant,  and  a  mongrel 
half-savage  crew,  had  laid  waste  the  fertile  region  of 
the  Mohawk  River,  and  burned  the  villages  of  Scho- 
harie and  Caughnawaga.  The  greatest  alarm  prevailed 
throughout  the  neighboring  country.  Governor  Clin- 
ton himself  took  the  field  at  the  head  of  the  mOitia, 
but  before  he  arrived  at  the  scene  of  mischief,  the  ma- 
rauders had  been  encountered  and  driven  back  by 
General  Van  Rensselaer  and  the  militia  of  those  parts 
not,  however,  until  they  had  nearly  destroyed  the  set- 
tlements on  the  Mohawk.  Washington  now  put 
Brigadier-general  James  Clinton  (the  governor's  broth- 
er), m  command  of  the  Northern  department. 

The  state  of  the  army  was  growing  more  and  more 
a  subject  of  sohcitude  to  the  commander-in-chief.  He 
felt  weary  of  struggling  on,  with  such  scanty  means, 
and  such  vast  responsibility.  The  campaign,  which,  at 
its  commencement,  had  seemed  pregnant  with  favor- 
able events,  had  proved  sterile  and  inactive,  and  was 
drawing  to  a  close.  The  short  terms  for  which  most  of 
the  troops  were  enUsted  must  soon  expire,  and  then  the 


172  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

present  army  would  be  reduced  to  a  mere  shadow. 
The  saddened  state  of  his  mind  may  be  judged  from  his 
let.ters.  An  ample  one  addressed  to  General  Sullivan, 
fully  lays  open  his  feelings  and  his  difficulties.  "  I  had 
hoped,"  writes  he,  "  but  hoped  in  vain,  that  a  pros 
pect  was  displaying  which  would  enable  me  to  fix  a 
period  to  my  military  pursuits,  and  restore  me  to 
domestic  life.  The  favorable  disposition  of  Spain ; 
the  promised  succor  from  France  ;  the  combined  force 
in  the  West  Indies  ;  the  declaration  of  Russia  (acceded 
to  by  other  governments  of  Europe,  and  humiliating 
to  the  naval  pride  and  power  of  Great  Britain) ;  the 
superionty  of  France  and  Spain  by  sea  in  Europe ;  the 
Irish  claims  and  English  disturbances,  formed,  in  the 
aggregate,  an  opinion  in  my  breast,  which  is  not  very 
susceptible  of  peaceful  dreams,  that  the  hour  of  deliv- 
erance was  not  far  distant ;  since,  however  unwiUing 
Great  Britain  might  be  to  yield  the  point,  it  would  not 
be  in  her  power  to  continue  the  contest.  But,  alas ! 
these  prospects,  flattering  as  they  were,  have  proved 
delusory,  and  I  see  nothing  before  us  but  accumulating 
distress. 

"  We  have  been  half  of  our  time  without  provisions, 
and  are  hkely  to  continue  so.  We  have  no  magazines, 
nor  money  to  form  them ;  and  in  a  little  time  we  shall 
have  no  men,  if  we  have  no  money  to  pay  them.  In  a 
word,  the  history  of  the  war  is  a  history  of  false  hopes 
and  temporary  devices,  instead  of  system  and  economy. 
It  is  in  vam,  however,  to  look  back,  nor  is  it  our  busi- 
ness to  do  so.  Our  case  is  not  desperate  if  virtue 
exists  in  the  people,  and  there  is  wisdom  among  our 
rulers.     But  to  suppose  that  this  great  Revolution  can 


1780.]  A   STANDING   ARMY    NEEDED.  173 

be  accomplished  by  a  temporary  army,  that  this  army 
will  be  subsisted  by  State  supplies,  and  that  taxation 
alone  is  adequate  to  our  wants,  is  in  my  opinion  absurd, 
and  as  unreasonable  as  to  expect  an  inversion  m  the 
order  of  nature  to  accommodate  itself  to  our  views. 
If  it  was  necessary,  it  could  be  proved  to  any  person 
of  a  moderate  understanding,  that  an  annual  army, 
raised  on  the  spur  of  the  occasion,  besides  bemg 
unqualified  for  the  end  designed,  is,  in  various  ways 
which  could  be  enumerated,  ten  times  more  expensive 
than  a  permanent  body  of  men  under  good  organiza- 
tion and  miUtary  disciplme,  which  never  was  nor  ever 
will  be  the  case  with  new  troops.  A  thousand  argu- 
ments resulting  from  experience  and  the  nature  of 
things,  might  also  be  adduced  to  prove  that  the  array, 
if  it  is  dependent  upon  State  supplies,  must  disband  or 
starve,  and  that  taxation  alone,  especially  at  this  late 
hour,  cannot  furnish  the  means  to  carry  on  the  war."  * 
We  will  here  add,  that  the  repeated  and  elaborate 
reasonings  of  Washington,  backed  by  dear-bought 
experience,  slowly  brought  Congress  to  adopt  a  system 
suggested  by  him  for  the  organization  and  support  of 
the  army,  according  to  which,  troops  were  to  be  en- 
listed to  serve  throughout  the  war,  and  all  officers  who 
continued  in  service  until  the  return  of  peace  were  to 
receive  half  pay  during  life. 

*  Writings  of  Washington,  vii.,  228. 


CHAPTER  l^Ill. 

THE  MAHQtnS  LAFATETTK  AND  HIS  LIOHT-INFANTBT — PE0P08KS  A  BEIL- 
LIANT  STROKE — PREPARATIONS  FOE  AN  ATTACK  ON  THE  BRITISH 
POSTS  ON  NEW  YORK  ISLAND — TI8IT  OP  THE  HABQUIS  OF  OHAS- 
TELLTIX  TO  THE  AMERICAN  CAMP — WASHINQTOH'  AT  HEAD-Q1JARTBB8 
— ATTACK  ON  THE  BRITISH  POSTS  GIVEN  UP — 8TABC  FORAGES  WEST- 
CHESTER COUNTY — EXPLOIT  OP  TALLMADGE  ON  LONG  ISLAND. 

The  Marquis  Lafayette  at  this  time  commanded  the 
advance  guard  of  Washington's  army,  composed  of  six 
battahons  of  light-infantry.  They  were  better  clad 
than  the  other  soldiery,  m  trim  uniforms,  leathern  hel- 
mets, with  crests  of  horse-hau*.  The  officers  were  armed 
with  spontoons,  the  non-commissioned  officers  with 
fusees ;  both  with  short  sabres  which  the  marquis  had 
brought  from  France,  and  presented  to  them.  He  was 
proud  of  his  troops,  and  had  a  young  man's  ardor  for 
active  service.  The  inactivity  which  had  prevailed  for 
some  time  past  was  intolerable  to  him.  To  satisfy  his 
impatient  longings,  Washington  had  permitted  him  in 
the  beginning  of  October  to  attempt  a  descent  at  night 
on  Staten  Island,  to  surprise  two  Hessian  encampments. 
It  had  fallen  through  for  want  of  boats,  and  other  re- 
quisites, but  he  saw  enough,  he  said,  to  convince  him 


1780.]  LAFAYETTE   ANXIOUS   FOR  ACTION.  175 

that  the  Americans  were  altogether  fitted  for  such  en- 
terprises. * 

The  marquis  saw  with  repining  the  campaign  draw- 
ing to  a  close,  and  nothing  done  that  would  rouse  the 
people  in  America,  and  be  spoken  of  at  the  Court  of 
Versailles.  He  was  urgent  with  Washington  that  the 
campaign  should  be  terminated  by  some  brilliant  stroke. 
"  Any  enterprise,"  writes  he,  "  will  please  the  people  of 
this  country,  and  show  them  that  we  do  not  mean  to 
remain  idle  when  we  have  men ;  even  a  defeat,  pro- 
vided, it  were  not  disastrous,  would  have  its  good 
effect." 

Complaints,  he  hinted,  had  been  made  in  France  of 
the  prevaihng  inactivity.  "  If  any  thing  could  decide 
the  ministry  to  yield  us  the  succor  demanded,"  writes 
he,  "it  would  be  our  giving  the  nation  a  proof  that  we 
are  ready." 

The  brilliant  stroke,  suggested  with  some  detail  by 
the  marquis,  was  a  general  attack  upon  Fort  Washing- 
ton, and  the  other  posts  at  the  north  end  of  the  island 
of  New  York,  and,  under  certain  circumstances,  which 
he  specified,  to  make  a  push  for  the  city. 

Washington  regarded  the  project  of  his  young  and 
ardent  friend  with  a  more  sober  and  cautious  eyo.  "  It 
is  impossible,  my  dear  marquis,"  replies  he,  "  to  desire 
more  ardently  than  I  do  to  terminate  the  campaign  by 
some  happy  stroke ;  but  we  must  consult  our  means 
rather  than  our  wishes,  and  not  endeavor  to  better  our 
afifairs  by  attempting  things,  which  for  want  of  success 
may  make  them  worse.    We  are  to  lament  that  there 

*  Memoires  de  Lafayette,  T.  1.  p.  837. 


176  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

has  been  a  misapprehension  of  our  circumstances  in 
Europe ;  but  to  endeavor  to  recover  our  reputation,  we 
should  take  care  that  we  do  not  injure  it  more.  Ever 
since  it  became  evident  that  the  aUied  arms  could  not 
co-operate  this  campaign,  I  have  had  an  eye  to  the 
point  you  mention,  detennined,  if  a  favorable  openmg 
should  offer,  to  embrace  it :  but,  so  far  as  my  informa- 
tion goes,  the  enterprise  would  not  be  warranted.  It 
would,  m  my  opinion,  be  imprudent  to  throw  an  army 
of  ten  thousand  men  upon  an  island,  against  nine  thou- 
sand, exclusive  of  seamen  and  mihtia.  This,  from  the 
accounts  we  have,  appears  to  be  the  enemy's  force.  All 
we  can  do  at  present,  therefore,  is  to  endeavor  to  gain 
a  more  certain  knowledge  of  their  situation,  and  act  ac- 
cordingly." 

The  British  posts  in  question  were  accordingly  re- 
connoitred from  the  opposite  banks  of  the  Hudson,  by 
Colonel  Gouvion,  an  able  French  engineer.  Preparations 
were  made  to  carry  the  scheme  into  effect,  should  it  be 
determined  upon,  in  which  case  Lafayette  was  to  lead 
the  attack  at  the  head  of  his  light  troops,  and  be  sup- 
ported by  Washington  with  his  main  force ;  while  a 
strong  foraging  party  sent  by  General  Heath  from  West 
Point  to  White  Plains  in  Westchester  county,  to  draw 
the  attention  of  the  enemy  in  that  direction,  and  mask 
the  real  design,  was,  on  preconcerted  signals,  to  advance 
rapidly  to  King's  Bridge,  and  co-operate. 

Washington's  own  officers  were  kept  in  ignorance 
of  the  ultimate  object  of  the  preparatory  movements. 
"  Never,"  writes  his  aide-de-camp.  Colonel  Humphreys, 
"  never  was  a  plan  better  arranged,  and  never  did  cir- 
cumstances promise   more  sure  or  complete  success. 


1780.]  VISIT   OF   DE    CHASTELLUX.  177 

The  British  were  not  only  unalarmed,  but  our  oAvn 
troops  were  misguided  in  their  operations."  As  the 
plan  was  not  carried  into  effect,  we  have  forborne  to 
give  many  of  its  details. 

At  this  juncture,  the  Marquis  de  Chastellux  arrived 
m  camp.  He  was  on  a  tour  of  curiosity,  while  the 
French  troops  at  Rhode  Island  were  in  winter-quarters, 
and  came  on  the  invitation  of  his  relative,  the  Marquis 
Lafayette,  who  was  to  present  him  to  Washington. 
In  after  years  he  published  an  account  of  his  tour,  in 
which  we  have  graphic  sketches  of  the  camp  and  the 
commanders.  He  arrived  with  his  aides-de-camp  on 
the  afternoon  of  November  23d,  and  sought  the  head- 
quarters of  the  commander-in-chief.  They  were  in  a 
large  farm-house.  There  was  a  spacious  tent  in  the 
yard  before  it  for  the  general,  and  several  smaller  tents 
in  an  adjacent  field  for  his  guards.  Baggage  waggons 
were  arranged  about  for  the  transportation  of  the  gen- 
eral's effects,  and  a  number  of  grooms  were  attending 
to  very  fine  horses  belonging  to  general  officers  and 
their  aides-de-camp.  Every  thing  was  in  perfect  order. 
As  de  Chastellux  rode  up,  he  observed  Lafayette  m 
front  of  the  house,  conversing  with  an  officer,  tall  of  stat- 
ure, with  a  mild  and  noble  countenance.  It  was  Wash- 
ington. De  Chastellux  alighted  and  was  presented  by 
Lafayette.  His  reception  was  frank  and  cordial.  Wash- 
ington conducted  him  into  the  house.  Dinner  was 
over,  but  Generals  Knox,  Wayne,  and  Howe,  and  Col- 
onels Hamilton,  Tilghman,  and  other  officers,  were  still 
seated  round  the  board,  Washington  introduced  De 
Chastellux  to  them,  and  ordered  a  repast  for  the  former 
and  his  aides-de-camp :  aU  remained  at  table,  and  a 

VOL.  IV. — 12 


178  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

few  glasses  of  claret  and  madeira  promoted  sociability. 
The  marquis  soon  fomid  himself  at  his  ease  with  Wash- 
ington. "  The  goodness  and  benevolence  which  char- 
acterize him,"  observes  he,  "  are  felt  by  all  around  him , 
but  the  confidence  he  inspires  is  never  familiar;  it 
springs  from  a  profound  esteem  for  his  virtues  and  a 
great  opinion  of  his  talents." 

In  the  evening,  after  the  guests  had  retired,  Wash- 
ington conducted  the  marquis  to  a  chamber  prepared 
for  him  and  his  aides-de-camp,  apologizing  with  nobly 
frank  and  simple  politeness,  that  his  scanty  quarters 
did  not  afford  more  spacious  accommodation. 

The  next  morning,  horses  were  led  up  after  break- 
fast ,  they  were  to  review  the  troops  and  visit  Lafayette's 
encampment  seven  miles  distant.  The  horses  which 
De  Chastellux  and  Washington  rode,  had  been  pre- 
sented to  the  latter  by  the  State  of  Virginia.  There 
were  fine  blood  horses  also  for  the  aides-de-camp. 
"  Washington's  horses,"  writes  De  ChasteUux,  "  are  as 
good  as  they  are  beautiful,  and  all  perfectly  trained.  He 
trains  them  all  himself.  He  is  a  very  good  and  a  very 
hardy  cavalier,  leaping  the  highest  barriers,  and  riding 
very  fast,  without  rising  in  the  stirrups,  bearing  on 
the  bridle,  or  suffering  his  horse  to  run  as  if  wild." 

In  the  camp  of  artillery  where  General  Knox 
received  them,  the  marquis  found  every  thing  in  per- 
fect order,  and  conducted  in  the  European  style. 
Washington  apologized  for  no  salute  being  fired.  De- 
tachments were  in  movement  at  a  distance,  in  the  plan 
of  operations,  and  the  booming  of  guns  might  give  an 
alarm  or  be  mistaken  for  signals. 

Incessant  and  increasing  ram  obliged  Washington 


1780.]  VISIT   OF   DE    CHASTELLUX.  179 

to  make  but  a  short  visit  to  Lafayette's  camp,  whence, 
puttmg  spurs  to  his  horse,  he  conducted  his  French 
visitors  back  to  head-quarters  on  as  fast  a  gallop  as 
bad  roads  would  permit. 

There  were  twenty  guests  at  table  that  day  at 
head-quarters.  The  dmner  was  in  the  English  style, 
large  dishes  of  butcher's  meat  and  poultry,  with  differ- 
ent kinds  of  vegetables,  followed  by  pies  and  puddings 
and  a  dessert  of  apples  and  hickory  nuts.  Washing- 
ton's fondness  for  the  latter  was  noted  by  the  marquis, 
and  indeed  was  often  a  subject  of  remark.  He  would 
sit  picking  them  by  the  hour  after  dinner,  as  he  sipped 
his  wine  and  conversed. 

One  of  the  general's  aides-de-camp  sat  by  him  at 
the  end  of  the  table  according  to  custom,  to  carve  the 
dishes  and  circulate  the  wine.  Healths  were  drunk 
and  toasts  were  given  ,  the  latter  were  sometimes  given 
by  the  general  through  his  aide-de-camp. 

The  conversation  was  tranquil  and  pleasant.  Wash- 
ington willingly  entered  into  some  details  about  the 
principal  operations  of  the  war,  "  but  always,"  says  the 
marquis,  "with  a  modesty  and  conciseness,  which 
proved  sufficiently  that  it  was  out  of  pure  complaisance 
he  consented  to  talk  about  himself." 

Wayne,  was  pronounced  agreeable  and  animated  in 
conversation,  and  possessed  of  wit ;  but  Knox,  Avith 
his  genial  aspect  and  cordial  manners,  seems  to  have 
won  De  Chastellux's  heart.  "  He  is  thirty-five  years  of 
age,"  writes  he,  "  very  stout  but  very  active  ;  a  man  of 
talent  and  intelligence,  amiable,  gay,  sincere  and  loyal. 
It  is  impossible  to  know  him  without  esteeming  him, 
and  to  see  hun  without  loving  him." 


180  LIFE   OP  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

It  was  about  half-past  seven  when  the  company 
rose  from  table,  shortly  after  which,  those  who  were 
not  of  the  household  departed.  There  was  a  light 
supper  of  three  or  four  dishes,  with  fruit,  and  abun- 
dance of  hickory  nuts ;  the  cloth  was  soon  removed ; 
Bordeaux  and  Madeira  wine  were  placed  upon  the 
table,  and  conversation  went  on.  Colonel  Hamilton 
was  the  aide-de-camp  who  officiated,  and  announced 
the  toasts  as  they  occurred.  **  It  is  customary,"  writes 
the  marquis,  "  towards  the  end  of  the  supper  to  caU 
upon  each  one  for  a  sentiment,  that  is  to  say,  the  name 
of  some  lady  to  whom  he  is  attached  by  some  senti- 
ment either  of  love,  friendship,  or  simple  preference." 

It  is  evident  there  was  extra  gayety  at  the  table  of 
the  commander-in-chief  during  this  visit,  in  comph- 
ment  to  his  Erench  guests ;  but  we  are  told,  that  gay 
conversation  often  prevailed  at  the  dinners  at  head- 
quarters among  the  aides-de-camp  and  young  officers, 
m  which  Washington  took  little  part,  though  a  quiet 
smile  would  show  that  he  enjoyed  it. 

We  have  been  tempted  to  quote  freely  the  remarks 
of  De  Chastellux,  as  they  are  those  of  a  cultivated  man 
of  society,  whose  position  and  experience  made  him 
a  competent  judge,  and  who  had  an  opportunity  of 
observing  Washington  in  a  famihar  point  of  view. 

Speaking  of  his  personal  appearance,  he  writes : 
"His  form  is  noble  and  elevated,  well-shaped  and 
exactly  proportioned ;  his  physiognomy  mild  and  agree- 
able, but  such,  that  one  does  not  speak  in  particular  of 
any  one  of  his  traits ;  and  that  in  quitting  him  there 
remains  simply  the  recollection  of  a  fine  countenance. 
His  air  is  neither  grave  nor  familiar ;  one  sees  some- 


1780.]  VISIT   OF   DE    CHASTELLUX.  181 

times  on  his  forehead  the  marks  of  thought,  but  never 
of  inquietude  ;  while  inspiring  respect  he  inspires  con- 
fidence, and  his  smile  is  always  that  of  benevolence. 

"  Above  all,  it  is  interesting,"  contmues  the  mar- 
quis, "  to  see  him  in  the  midst  of  the  general  officers 
of  his  army.  General  in  a  republic,  he  has  not  the 
imposing  state  of  a  marshal  of  France  who  gives  the 
order ;  hero  in  a  republic,  he  excites  a  different  sort  of 
respect,  which  seems  to  originate  in  this  sole  idea,  that 
the  welfare  of  each  individual  is  attached  to  his 
person." 

He  sums  up  his  character  m  these  words  .  "  Brave 
without  tementy ;  laborious  without  ambition ;  gene- 
rous without  prodigality ;  noble  without  pride ;  vir- 
tuous without  seventy ;  he  seems  always  to  stop  short 
of  that  limit,  where  the  virtues,  assuming  colors  more 
vivid,  but  more  changeable  and  dubious,  might  be 
taken  for  defects." 

During  the  time  of  this  visit  of  the  marquis  to 
head-quarters,  news  was^  received  of  the  unexpected 
and  accidental  appearance  of  several  Bntish  armed  ves- 
sels m  the  Hudson ;  the  effect  was  to  disconcert  the 
complicated  plan  of  a  coup-de-main  upon  the  Bntish 
posts,  and  finally,  to  cause  it  to  be  abandoned. 

Some  parts  of  the  scheme  were  attended  with  suc- 
cess. The  veteran  Stark,  with  a  detachment  of  twenty- 
five  hundred  men,  made  an  extensive  forage  in  West- 
chester county,  and  Major  Tallmadge  with  eighty  men, 
chiefly  dismounted  dragoons  of  Sheldon's  regiment, 
crossed  m  boats  from  the  Connecticut  shore  to  Long 
Island,  where  the  Sound  was  twenty  miles  wide  ;  trav- 
ersed the  island  on  the  night  of  the  22d  of  Novem- 


182  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

ber,  surprised  Fort  George  at  Coram,  captured  the  gar- 
rison of  fifty-two  men,  demolished  the  fort,  set  fire  to 
magazines  of  forage,  and  recrossed  the  Sound  to  Fair- 
field, without  the  loss  of  a  man :  an  achievement 
which  drew  forth  a  high  eulogium  from  Congress. 

At  the  end  of  November,  the  army  went  mto  winter- 
quarters  ;  the  Pennsylvania  line  m  the  neighborhood 
of  Morristown,  the  Jersey  Ime  about  Pompton,  the 
New  England  troops  at  West  Point,  and  the  other  posts 
of  the  Highlands ;  and  the  New  York  line  was  stationed 
at  Albany,  to  guard  against  any  invasion  from  Canada. 

The  French  army  remained  stationed  at  Newport, 
excepting  the  Duke  of  Lauzun's  legion,  which  was  can- 
toned at  Lebanon  in  Connecticut.  Washington's  head- 
quarters were  established  at  New  Windsor,  on  the 
Hudson. 

We  will  now  turn  to  the  South,  to  note  the  course 
of  affabs  in  that  quarter  during  the  last  few  months. 


CHAPTER     XIV. 


BIOOEOtJS  MEASURES  OF  COKNW ALtIS  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA — FBEOTJSON 
SENT  TO  800UE  THE  MOUNTAIN  COUNTBT  BETWEEN  THE  CATAWBA  AND 
THE  TADKIN — 00BNWALLI8  IN  A  HOBNBt'S  NEST — MOVEMENTS  OF  FEEGU- 
SON — MOUNTAIN  MEN  AND  FIEBCE  MEN  FBOM  KENTUCKY — BATTLE  OP 
king's  mountain — BETBOGBADE  MAECH  OF  OOENWALLIS. 


CoRNWALLis  having,  as  he  supposed,  entirely  crushed 
the  "  rebel  cause  "  in  South  Carolina  by  the  defeats  of 
Gates  and  Sumter,  remained  for  some  time  at  Camden, 
detained  by  the  excessive  heat  of  the  weather  and  the 
sickness  of  part  of  his  troops,  broken  down  by  the  hard- 
ships of  campaigning  under  a  southern  sun.  He 
awaited  also  supplies  and  reinforcements. 

Immediately  after  the  victory  at  Camden,  he  had 
ordered  the  finends  to  royalty  in  North  Carolina  "  to 
arm  and  intercept  the  beaten  army  of  General  Gates," 
promising  that  he  would  march  directly  to  the 
borders  of  that  province  in  their  support;  he  now 
detached  Major  Patrick  Pei*guson  to  its  western  con- 
fines, to  keep  the  war  alive  in  that  quarter.  This 
resolute  partisan  had  with  him  his  own  corps  of  light 
infantry,  and  a  body  of  royalist  militia  of  his  own 
training.     His  whole  force  was  between  eleven  and 


184  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

twelve  hundred  men,  noted  for  activity  and  alertness, 
and  unincumbered  with  baggage  or  artillery. 

His  orders  were  to  skirr  the  mountain  country  be- 
tween the  Catawba  and  the  Yadkin,  harass  the  whigs, 
inspirit  the  tories,  and  embody  the  militia  under  the 
royal  banner.  This  done,  he  was  to  repair  to  Charlotte, 
the  capital  of  Mecklenburg  County,  where  he  would 
find  Lord  Cornwalhs,  who  intended  to  make  it  his  ren- 
dezvous. Should  he,  however,  in  the  course  of  his  tour, 
be  threatened  by  a  supenor  force,  he  was  immediately 
to  return  to  the  main  army.  No  great  opposition,  how- 
ever, was  apprehended,  the  Americans  being  considered 
totally  broken  up  and  dispirited. 

During  the  suspense  of  his  active  operations  in  the 
field,  Cornwalhs  instituted  rigorous  measures  against 
Americans  who  continued  under  arms,  or,  by  any  other 
acts,  manifested  what  he  termed  "  a  desperate  perseve- 
rance in  opposing  His  Majesty's  Government."  Among 
these  were  included  many  who  had  taken  refuge  in  North 
Carolina.  A  commissioner  was  appointed  to  take  pos- 
session of  their  estates  and  property;  of  the  annual 
product  of  which  a  part  was  to  be  allowed  for  the  sup- 
port of  their  families,  the  residue  to  be  applied  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  war.  Letters  from  several  of  the 
principal  inhabitants  of  Charleston  having  been  found 
in  the  baggage  of  the  captured  American  generals,  the 
former  were  accused  of  breaking  their  parol,  and  hold- 
ing a  treasonable  correspondence  with  the  armed  ene- 
mies of  England ,  they  were  in  consequence  confined 
on  board  of  prison  ships,  and  afterwards  transported  to 
St.  Augustine  in  Florida. 

Among  the  prisoners  taken  in  the  late  combats, 


1780.]      RIGOROUS    MEASURES   OF   CORNWALLIS.  185 

many,  it  was  discovered,  had  British  protections  in  their 
pockets ,  these  were  deemed  arrant  runagates,  amen- 
able to  the  penalties  of  the  proclamation  issued  by  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  on  the  3d  of  June  ,  they  were  therefore 
led  forth  from  the  provost  and  hanged,  almost  without 
the  form  of  an  inquiry. 

These  measures  certainly  were  not  in  keeping  with 
the  character  for  moderation  and  benevolence  usually 
given  to  Lord  Cornwalhs  ;  but  they  accorded  with  the 
rancorous  spirit  manifested  toward  each  other  both  by 
whigs  and  tories  in  Southern  warfare.  If  they  were 
intended  by  his  lordship  as  measures  of  policy,  their 
effect  was  far  different  from  what  he  anticipated :  oppo- 
sition was  exasperated  into  deadly  hate,  and  a  cry  of 
vengeance  was  raised  throughout  the  land.  Cornwallis 
decamped  from  Camden,  and  set  out  for  North  Caro- 
lina. In  the  subjugation  of  that  province,  he  counted 
on  the  co-operation  of  the  troops  which  Sir  Henry  CUn- 
ton  was  to  send  to  the  lower  part  of  Virginia,  which, 
after  reducing  the  Virginians  to  obedience,  were  to  join 
his  lordship's  standard  on  the  confines  of  North  Caro- 
lina. 

Advancing  into  the  latter  province  Cornwallis  took 
post  at  Charlotte,  where  he  had  given  rendezvous  to  Fer- 
guson. Mecklenburg,  of  which  this  was  the  capital, 
was,  as  the  reader  may  recollect,  the  "heady  high-minded" 
county,  where  the  first  declaration  of  independence  had 
been  made,  and  his  lordship  from  uncomfortable  expe- 
rience soon  pronounced  Charlotte  "  the  Hornet's  nest  of 
North  Carohna." 

The  surrounding  country  was  wild  and  rugged, 
covered  with  close  and  thick  woods,  and  crossed  in 


186  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

every  direction  by  narrow  roads.  All  attempts  at 
foraging  were  worse  than  useless.  The  plantations 
were  small  and  afforded  scanty  supplies.  The  inhabit- 
ants were  staunch  whigs,  with  the  pugnacious  spirit  of 
the  old  Covenanters.  Instead  of  remaining  at  home 
and  receiving  the  king's  money  in  exchange  for  their 
produce,  they  turned  out  with  their  rifles,  stationed 
themselves  in  covert  places,  and  fired  upon  the  foraging 
parties  ;  convoys  of  provisions  from  Camden  had  to 
fight  their  way,  and  expresses  were  shot  down  and  their 
despatches  seized. 

The  capture  of  his  expresses  was  a  sore  annoyance 
to  Cornwallis,  depriving  him  of  all  intelligence  concern- 
ing the  movements  of  Colonel  Ferguson,  whose  arrival 
he  was  anxiously  awaiting.  The  expedition  of  that 
doughty  partisan  officer  here  calls  for  especial  notice. 
He  had  been  chosen  for  this  military  tour  as  being  cal- 
culated to  gain  friends  by  his  conciliating  disposition 
and  manners,  and  his  address  to  the  people  of  the 
country  was  in  that  spirit :  "  We  come  not  to  make  war 
upon  women  and  children,  but  to  give  them  money  and 
relieve  their  distresses."  Ferguson,  however,  had  a 
loyal  hatred  of  whigs,  and  to  his  standard  flocked  many 
rancorous  tories,  beside  outlaws  and  desperadoes,  so  that 
with  all  his  conciliating  intentions,  his  progress  through 
the  country  was  attended  by  many  exasperating  ex- 
cesses. 

He  was  on  his  way  to  join  ComwaUis  when  a  chance 
for  a  signal  exploit  presented  itself.  An  American 
force  under  Colonel  Elijah  Clarke,  of  Georgia,  was 
retreating  to  the  mountain  districts  of  North  Carolina, 
after  an  unsuccessful  attack  upon  the  British  post  at 


1780.]  MOUNTAIN    MEN   OP   CAROLINA.  187 

Augusta.  Ferguson  resolved  to  cut  off  their  retreat. 
Turning  towards  the  mountains,  he  made  his  way 
through  a  rugged  wilderness  and  took  post  at  Gilbert- 
town,  a  small  frontier  village  of  log-houses.  He  was 
encouraged  to  this  step,  say  the  British  chroniclers,  by 
the  persuasion  that  there  was  no  force  in  that  part  of 
the  country  able  to  look  him  in  the  face.  He  had  no 
idea  that  the  marauds  of  his  followers  had  arrayed  the 
very  wilderness  against  him.  *'  All  of  a  sudden,"  say 
the  chroniclers  just  cited,  "a  numerous,  fierce  and 
unexpected  enemy  sprung  up  m  the  depths  of  the 
desert.  The  scattered  mhabitants  of  the  mountains 
assembled  without  noise  or  warnmg,  under  the  conduct 
of  six  or  seven  of  then*  militia  colonels,  to  the  number 
of  six  hundred  strong,  daring,  well-mounted  and  excel- 
lent horsemen."  * 

These,  in  fact,  were  the  people  of  the  mountains 
which  form  the  frontiers  of  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia, 
"  mountain  men,"  as  they  were  commonly  called,  a 
hardy  race,  half  huntsmen,  half  herdsmen,  inhabiting 
deep  narrow  valleys,  and  fertile  slopes,  adapted  to  graz- 
ing, watered  by  the  coldest  of  springs  and  brightest  of 
streams,  and  embosomed  in  mighty  forest  trees.  Being 
subject  to  inroads  and  surprisals  from  the  Chickasaws, 
Cherokees  and  Creeks,  a  tacit  league  existed  among 
them  for  mutual  defence,  and  it  only  needed,  as  in  the 
present  instance,  an  alarm  to  be  circulated  through 
their  settlements  by  swift  messengers,  to  bring  them  at 
once  to  the  point  of  danger.  Beside  these,  there  were 
other  elements  of  war  suddenly  gathering  in  Fergu- 

*  Annual  Register,  1781,  p.  52. 


188  LIFE   OP  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

son's  vicinity.  A  band  of  what  were  termed  "the 
wild  and  fierce"  inhabitants  of  Kentucky,  with,  men 
from  other  settlements  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  had 
crossed  the  momitains,  led  by  Colonels  Campbell  and 
Boone,  to  pounce  upon  a  quantity  of  Indian  goods  at 
Augusta ;  but  had  pulled  up  on  hearing  of  the  repulse 
of  Clarke.  The  stout  yeomen,  also,  of  the  district  of 
Ninety-Six,  roused  by  the  marauds  of  Ferguson,  had 
taken  the  field,  under  the  conduct  of  Colonel  James 
Williams,  of  Granville  County.  Here,  too,  were 
hard-riders  and  sharp-shooters,  from  Holston  River, 
PoAvel's  Valley,  Botetourt,  Fincastle,  and  other  parts  of 
Virginia,  commanded  by  Colonels  Campbell,  Cleveland, 
Shelby  and  Sevier.  Such  were  the  different  bodies  of 
mountaineers  and  backwoodsmen,  suddenly  drawing 
together  from  various  parts  to  the  number  of  three 
thousand. 

Threatened  by  a  force  so  superior  in  numbers  and 
fierce  in  hostility,  Ferguson  issued  an  address  to  rouse 
the  tories.  "  The  Backwater  men  have  crossed  the 
mountain,"  said  he,  "  McDowell,  Hampton,  Shelby  and 
Cleveland  are  at  their  head.  If  you  choose  to  be  trod- 
den upon  forever  and  ever  by  a  set  of  mongrels,  say  so 
at  once,  and  let  women  look  out  for  real  men  to  pro- 
tect them.  If  you  desire  to  live  and  bear  the  name  of 
men,  grasp  your  arms  in  a  moment  and  run  to  camp." 

The  taunting  appeal  produced  but  little  effect.  In 
this  exigency,  Ferguson  remembered  the  instructions 
of  CornwalUs,  that  he  should  rejoin  him  should  he  find 
himself  threatened  by  a  superior  force ;  breaking  up 
his  quarters,  therefore,  he  pushed  for  the  British  army, 
sending  messengers  ahead  to  apprise  his  lordship  of 


1780.]  WARRIORS    OF   THE   WILDERNESS.  189 

his  danger.  Unfortunately  for  him,  his  missives  were 
intercepted. 

Gilbert-town  had  not  long  been  vacated  by  Fergu- 
son and  his  troops,  when  the  motley  host  we  have 
described  thronged  in.  Some  were  on  foot,  but  the 
greater  part  on  horseback.  Some  were  in  homespun 
garb  ,  but  the  most  part  in  huntmg-shirts,  occasionally 
decorated  with  colored  frmge  and  tassels.  Each  man 
had  his  long  rifle  and  hunting-knife,  his  wallet,  or 
knapsack  and  blanket,  and  either  a  buck's  tail  or  sprig 
of  evergreen  in  his  hat.  Here  and  there  an  officer 
appeared  m  the  Continental  imiform  of  blue  and  buff', 
but  most  preferred  the  half-Indian  hunting-dress. 
There  was  neither  tent  nor  tent  equipage,  neither  bag- 
gage nor  baggage  waggon  to  encumber  the  movements 
of  that  extemporaneous  host.  Prompt  warriors  of  the 
wilderness,  with  them  it  was  "  seize  the  weapon — spring 
into  the  saddle — and  away  ! "  In  going  into  action, 
it  was  their  practice  to  dismount,  tie  their  horses  to  the 
branches  of  trees,  or  secure  them  in  some  other  way, 
so  as  to  be  at  hand  for  use  when  the  battle  was  over, 
either  to  pursue  a  flying  enemy,  or  make  their  own 
escape  by  dint  of  hoof. 

There  was  a  clamor  of  tongues  for  a  time  at  Gil- 
bert-town ;  groups  on  horseback  and  foot  in  every  part, 
holding  hasty  council.  Being  told  that  Ferguson  had 
retreated  by  the  Cherokee  road  toward  North  Carolina, 
about  nine  hundred  of  the  hardiest  and  best  mounted 
set  out  in  urgent  pursuit ;  leaving  those  who  were  on 
foot,  or  weakly  mounted,  to  follow  on  as  fast  as  pos- 
sible. Colonel  William  Campbell,  of  Virginia,  having 
come  from  the  greatest  distance,  was  allowed  to  have 


190  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1T80. 

commaTid  of  the  whole  party ;  but  there  was  not  much 
order  nor  subordination.  Each  colonel  led  his  own 
men  in  his  own  way. 

In  the  evening  they  arrived  at  the  Cowpens,  a  graz- 
ing neighborhood.  Here  two  beeves  were  killed  and 
given  to  be  cut  up,  cooked  and  eaten  as  quick  as  pos- 
sible. Before  those  who  were  slow  or  negligent  had 
half  prepared  their  repast,  marching  orders  were  given 
and  all  were  again  in  the  saddle.  A  rapid  and  irregu- 
lar march  was  kept  up  all  night  in  murky  darkness 
and  through  a  heavy  rain.  About  daybreak,  they 
crossed  Broad  River,  where  an  attack  was  apprehended. 
Not  finding  the  enemy,  they  halted,  lit  their  fires,  made 
their  morning's  meal,  and  took  a  brief  repose.  By 
nine  o'clock  they  were  again  on  the  march.  The 
rainy  night  had  been  succeeded  by  a  bright  October 
morning,  and  all  were  in  high  spirits.  Ferguson,  they 
learnt,  had  taken  the  road  towards  King's  Mountain, 
about  twelve  miles  distant.  When  within  three  miles 
of  it  their  scouts  brought  m  w^ord  that  he  had  taken 
post  on  its  summit.  The  officers  now  held  a  short  con- 
sultation on  horseback,  and  then  proceeded.  The 
position  taken  by  Ferguson  was  a  strong  one.  King's 
Mountain  rises  out  of  a  broken  country,  and  is  de- 
tached, on  the  north,  from  inferior  heights  by  a  deep 
valley,  so  as  to  resemble  an  insulated  promontory  about 
half  a  mile  in  length,  with  sloping  sides,  excepting  on 
the  north.  The  mountain  was  covered  for  the  most 
part  with  lofty  forest  trees,  free  from  underwood,  inter- 
spersed with  boulders  and  masses  of  gray  rock.  The 
forest  was  sufficiently  open  to  give  free  passage  to 
horsemen. 


1780.]  BATTLE   OF    KINg's    MOUNTAIN.  191 

As  the  Americans  drew  nearer,  they  could  occa- 
sionally, through  openings  of  the  woodland,  descry  the 
ghttering  of  arms  along  a  level  ridge,  forming  the  crest 
of  King's  Mountain.  This,  Ferguson  had  made  his 
stronghold ;  boasting  that  "  if  all  the  rebels  out  of 
hell  should  attack  him,  they  would  not  drive  him 
from  it." 

Dismounting  at  a  small  stream  which  runs  through 
a  ravine,  the  Americans  picketed  their  horses  or  tied 
them  to  the  branches  of  the  trees,  and  gave  them  in 
charge  of  a  small  guard.  They  then  formed  them- 
selves into  three  divisions  of  nearly  equal  size,  and 
prepared  to  storm  the  heights  on  three  sides.  Camp- 
bell, seconded  by  Shelby,  was  to  lead  the  centre  divi- 
sion ;  Sevier  with  McDowell,  the  right,  and  Cleve- 
land and  WilHams,  the  left.  The  divisions  were  to 
scale  the  mountain  as  nearly  as  possible  at  the  same 
time.  The  fighting  directions  were  in  frontier  style. 
When  once  in  action,  every  one  must  act  for  him- 
self. The  men  were  not  to  wait  for  the  word  of  com- 
mand, but  to  take  good  aim  and  fire  as  fast  as  possible. 
When  they  could  no  longer  hold  their  ground  they 
were  to  get  behind  trees,  or  retreat  a  little,  and  return 
to  the  fight,  but  never  to  go  quite  off. 

Campbell  allowed  time  for  the  flanking  divisions  to 
move  to  the  right  and  left  along  the  base  of  the  moun- 
tain, and  take  their  proper  distances  ;  he  then  pushed 
up  in  front  with  the  centre  division,  he  and  Shelby, 
each  at  the  head  of  his  men.  The  first  firing  was 
about  four  o'clock,  when  a  picket  was  driven  in  by 
Cleveland  and  Williams  on  the  left,  and  pursued  up 
the  mountain.     Campbell  soon  arrived  witliin  rifle  dis- 


192  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1Y80. 

tance  of  the  crest  of  the  mountain,  whence  a  sheeted 
fire  of  musketry  was  opened  upon  him.  He  instantly 
deployed  his  men,  posted  them  behind  trees,  and 
returned  the  fire  with  deadly  effect. 

Ferguson,  exasperated  at  being  thus  hunted  into 
this  mountain  fastness,  had  been  chafing  in  his  rocky 
lair  and  meditating  a  furious  sally.  He  now  rushed 
out  with  his  regulars,  made  an  impetuous  charge  with 
the  bayonet,  and  dislodging  his  assailants  from  their 
coverts,  began  to  drive  them  down  the  mountain, 
they  not  having  a  bayonet  among  them.  He  had  not 
proceeded  far,  when  a  flanking  fire  was  opened  by  one 
of  the  other  divisions ,  facing  about  and  attacking  this 
he  was  again  successful,  when  a  third  fire  was  opened 
from  another  quarter.  Thus,  as  fast  as  one  division 
gave  way  before  the  bayonet  another  came  to  its  relief ; 
while  those  who  had  given  way  rallied  and  returned  to 
the  charge.  The  nature  of  the  fighting  ground  was 
more  favorable  to  the  rifle  than  the  bayonet,  and  this 
was  a  kind  of  warfare  in  which  the  frontier  men  were 
at  home.  The  elevated  position  of  the  enemy  also 
was  in  favor  of  the  Americans,  securing  them  from  the 
danger  of  their  own  cross-fire.  Ferguson  found  that 
he  was  completely  in  the  hunter's  toils,  beset  on  every 
side ;  but  he  stood  bravely  at  bay,  until  the  ground 
around  him  was  strewed  with  the  killed  and  wounded, 
picked  off  by  the  fatal  rifle.  His  men  were  at  length 
broken,  and  retreated  in  confusion  along  the  ridge. 
He  galloped  from  place  to  place  endeavoring  to  rally 
them,  when  a  rifle  baU  brought  him  to  the  ground,  and 
his  white  horse  was  seen  careering  down  the  mountain 
without  a  rider. 


1780.]  BATTLE   OF   KING*S   MOUNTAIN.  193 

This  closed  the  bloody  fight ,  for  Perguson's  sec- 
ond in  command,  seeing  all  further  resistance  hopeless, 
hoisted  a  white  flag,  beat  a  parley  and  sned  for  quar- 
ters. One  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  enemy  had  fallen 
and  as  many  been  wounded ;  while  of  the  Americans, 
but  twenty  were  killed,  though  a  considerable  number 
were  wounded.  Among  those  slain  was  Colonel  James 
WilUams,  who  had  commanded  the  troops  of  Ninety- 
Six,  and  proved  himself  one  of  the  most  daring  of 
the  partisan  leaders. 

Eight  hundred  and  ten  men  were  taken  prisoners, 
one  hundred  of  whom  were  regulars,  the  rest  royaUsts. 
The  rancor  awakened  by  civil  war  was  shown  in  the 
treatment  of  some  of  the  prisoners.  A  court-martial 
was  held  the  day  after  the  battle,  and  a  number  of  tory 
prisoners  who  had  been  bitter  in  their  hostility  to  the 
American  cause,  and  flagitious  in  their  persecution  of 
their  countrymen,  were  hanged.  This  was  to  revenge 
the  death  of  American  prisoners  hanged  at  Camden 
and  elsewhere. 

The  army  of  mountaineers  and  frontier  men,  thus 
fortuitously  congregated,  did  not  attempt  to  follow  up 
their  signal  blow.  They  had  no  general  scheme,  no  plan 
of  campaign ;  it  was  the  spontaneous  rising  of  the  sons 
of  the  soil,  to  revenge  it  on  its  invaders,  and,  having  ef- 
fected their  purpose,  they  returned  in  triumph  to  their 
homes.  They  were  little  aware  of  the  importance  of 
their  achievement.  The  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  in- 
considerable as  it  was  in  the  numbers  engaged,  turned 
the  tide  of  Southern  warfare.  The  destruction  of  Fer- 
guson and  his  corps  gave  a  complete  check  to  the  ex- 
pedition of  Cornwallis.     He  began  to  fear  for  the  safety 

VOL.  IV. — 13 


194  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

of  South  Carolina,  liable  to  sucli  sudden  irruptions  from 
the  mountains ;  lest,  while  he  was  facing  to  the  north, 
these  hordes  of  stark-riding  warriors  might  throw  them- 
selves behind  him,  and  produce  a  popular  combustion 
m  the  province  he  had  left.  He  resolved,  therefore, 
to  return  with  all  speed  to  that  province  and  provide 
for  its  security. 

On  the  14th  of  October  he  commenced  his  retro- 
grade and  mortifying  march,  conducting  it  in  the  night, 
and  with  such  huny  and  confusion,  that  nearly  twenty 
waggons,  laden  with  baggage  and  supplies,  were  lost. 
As  he  proceeded,  the  rainy  season  set  in ,  the  brooks  and 
rivers  became  swollen,  and  almost  impassable ,  the  roads 
deep  and  miry;  provisions  and  forage  scanty;  the 
troops  generally  sickly,  having  no  tents.  Lord  Comwal- 
Hs  himself  was  seized  with  a  bilious  fever,  which  obhged 
him  to  halt  two  days  in  the  Catawba  settlement,  and 
afterwards  to  be  conveyed  in  a  waggon,  giving  up  the 
command  to  Lord  Rawdon. 

In  the  course  of  this  desolate  march,  the  British 
suffered  as  usual  from  the  vengeance  of  an  outraged 
countiy,  being  fired  upon  from  behind  trees  and  other 
coverts  by  the  yeomanry ;  their  sentries  shot  down  at 
their  encampments;  their  foraging  parties  cut  off. 
"The  enemy,'*  writes  Lord  Rawdon,  "are  mostly 
mounted  militia,  not  to  be  overtaken  by  our  mfantry, 
nor  to  be  safely  pursued  in  this  strong  country  by  our 
cavalry." 

Por  two  weeks  were  they  toihng  on  this  retrograde 
march,  through  deep  roads,  and  a  country  cut  up  by 
water-courses,  with  the  very  elements  arrayed  against 
them.    At  length,  after  fording  the  Catawba  where  it 


1780.]  CORNWALLIS    AT   WINNSBOROUGH.  195 

was  six  hundred  yards  wide,  and  three  and  a  half  deep, 
and  where  a  handful  of  riflemen  might  have  held  them 
in  check,  the  army  arrived  at  Winnsborough  in  South 
Carolina.  Hence,  by  order  of  Comwallis,  Lord  Raw- 
don  wrote  on  the  24th  of  October  to  Brigadier-general 
Leslie,  who  was  at  that  time  in  the  Chesapeake,  with  the 
force  detached  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton  for  a  descent  upon 
Virginia,  suggesting  the  expediency  of  his  advancing 
to  North  Carolina,  for  the  purpose  of  co-operation  with 
Cornwallis,  who  feared  to  proceed  far  from  South  Caro- 
lina, lest  it  should  be  agam  in  insurrection. 

In  the  mean  time  his  lordship  took  post  at  Winnsbo- 
rough. It  was  a  central  position  where  he  might  cover 
the  country  from  partisan  incursions,  obtain  forage  and 
supphes,  and  await  the  co-operation  of  General  Leslie. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

MABION — ms  OHARACTBB — BYE  NAMES — HAtTNTS — TAELETON'  IN  QITE8T 
OF  niM — SUMTEK  ON  THE  WEST  SIDE  OF  THE  8ANTEE — HIS  AFFAIR 
WITn  TABLETON  AT  BLACK  STOCK  HILL — GATES  AT  HILLSBOROUGH — 
HIS  DOMESTIC  MISFOBTUNES — AERIVAL  OF  GREENE — HIS  CONSIDER- 
ATE CONDUCT — GATES  RETIRES  TO  HIS  ESTATE — CONDITION  OF  THE 
ARMY — STRATAGEM  OF  COLONEL  WASHINGTON  AT  CLEBMONT — ^MOB- 
GAN  DETACHED  TO  THE  DISTRICT  OF  NINETY-SIX— GREENE  POSTS 
HIMSELF  ON  THE  PEDEE. 

The  victory  at  King's  Mountain  had  set  the  partisan 
spirit  throughout  the  country  in  a  blaze.  Francis  Ma- 
rion was  soon  in  the  field.  He  had  been  made  a  briga- 
dier-general by  Governor  Rutledge,  but  his  brigade,  as  it 
was  called,  was  formed  of  neighbors  and  friends,  and  was 
continually  fluctuating  in  numbers.  He  was  nearly  fifty 
years  of  age,  and  small  of  stature,  but  hardy,  healthy 
and  vigorous.  Brave  but  not  braggart,  never  avoid- 
ing danger,  but  never  rashly  seeking  it.  Taciturn  and 
abstemious ;  a  strict  disciplinarian :  careful  of  the  lives 
of  his  men,  but  little  mindful  of  his  own  life.  Just  in 
his  deahngs,  free  from  every  thing  selfish  or  mercenary, 
and  incapable  of  a  meanness.  He  had  his  haunts  and 
strongholds  in  the  morasses  of  the  Pedee  and  Black 
River.  His  men  were  hardy  and  abstemious  as  himself ; 


1780.]  MARION,    HIS    CHARACTER.  197 

they  ate  their  meat  without  salt,  often  subsisted  on 
potatoes,  were  scantily  clad,  and  almost  destitute  of 
blankets.  Marion  was  full  of  stratagems  and  expe- 
dients. Sallying  forth  from  his  morasses,  he  would 
overrun  the  lower  districts,  pass  the  Santee,  beat  up 
the  small  posts  in  the  vicinity  of  Charleston,  cut  up  the 
communication  between  that  city  and  Camden ;  and 
having  struck  some  signal  blow,  so  as  to  rouse  the  ven- 
geance of  the  enemy,  would  retreat  again  into  his  fenny 
fastnesses.  Hence  the  British  gave  him  the  bye  name 
of  the  Swamp  Fox,  but  those  of  his  countrymen  who 
knew  his  courage,  his  loftiness  of  spirit  and  spotless 
integrity,  considered  him  the  Bayard  of  the  South. 

Tarleton,  who  was  on  duty  in  that  part  of  the 
country,  undertook,  as  he  said,  to  draw  the  swamp  fox 
from  his  cover.  He  accordingly  marched  cautiously 
down  the  east  bank  of  the  Wateree  with  a  body  of  dra- 
goons and  infantry,  in  compact  order  The  fox,  how- 
ever, kept  close  ;  he  saw  that  the  enemy  was  too  strong 
for  him.  Tarleton  now  changed  his  plan.  By  day  he 
broke  up  his  force  into  small  detachments  or  patroles, 
giving  them  orders  to  keep  near  enough  to  each  other 
to  render  mutual  support  if  attacked,  and  to  gather  to- 
gether at  night. 

The  artifice  had  its  effect.  IMarion  sallied  forth 
from  his  covert  just  before  daybreak  to  make  an  attack 
npon  one  of  these  detachments,  when,  to  his  surprise, 
he  found  himself  close  upon  the  British  camp.  Per- 
ceiving the  snare  that  had  been  spread  for  him,  he 
made  a  rapid  retreat.  A  close  pursuit  took  place.  For 
seven  hours  Marion  was  hunted  from  one  swamp  and 
fastness  to  another ;  several  stragglers  of  his  band  were 


198  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

captured,  and  Tarleton  was  in  strong  hope  of  bringing 
him  into  action,  when  an  express  came  spurring  from 
Comwallis,  calling  for  the  immediate  services  of  himself 
and  his  dragoons  in  another  quarter. 

Sumter  was  again  m  the  field !  That  indefatigable 
partisan  having  recruited  a  strong  party  in  the  moun- 
tainous country,  to  which  he  retreated  after  his  defeat 
on  the  Wateree,  had  reappeared  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Santee,  repulsed  a  British  party  sent  against  him,  kilhng 
its  leader ;  then,  crossing  Broad  River,  had  effected  a 
junction  with  Colonels  Clark  and  Brannan,  and  now 
menaced  the  British  posts  in  the  district  of  Ninety-Six. 

It  was  to  disperse  this  head  of  partisan  war  that 
Tarleton  was  called  off  from  beleaguering  Marion.  Ad- 
vancing with  his  accustomed  celerity  he  thought  to  sur- 
prise Sumter  on  the  Enoree  River.  A  deserter  apprised 
the  latter  of  his  danger.  He  pushed  across  the  river, 
but  was  hotly  pursued,  and  his  rear-guard  roughly 
handled.  He  now  made  for  the  Tyger  River,  noted  for 
turbulence  and  rapidity ;  once  beyond  this,  he  might 
disband  his  followers  in  the  woods.  Tarleton,  to  pre- 
vent his  passing  it  unmolested,  spurred  forward  in  ad- 
vance of  his  main  body  vdth  one  hundred  and  seventy 
dragoons  and  eighty  mounted  men  of  the  infantry. 
Before  five  o'clock  (Nov.  20)  his  advanced  guard  over- 
took and  charged  the  rear  of  the  Americans,  who  re- 
treated to  the  main  body.  Sumter  finding  it  impos- 
sible to  cross  Tyger  River  in  safety,  and  being  informed 
that  the  enemy,  thus  pressing  upon  him,  were  without 
infantry  or  cannon,  took  post  on  Black  Stock  Hill,  with 
a  rivulet  and  rail  fence  in  front,  the  Tyger  River  in  the 
rear  and  on  the  right  flank,  and  a  large  log  bam  on  the 


1780.]  FIGHT   AT   BLACK    STOCK   HILL.  199 

left.  The  bam  was  turned  into  a  fortress,  and  a  part 
of  the  force  stationed  in  it  to  fire  through  the  apertures 
between  the  logs. 

Tarleton  halted  on  an  opposite  height  to  await  the 
arrival  of  his  infantry,  and  part  of  his  men  dismounted 
to  ease  their  horses.  Sumter  seized  this  moment  for 
an  attack.  He  was  driven  back  after  some  sharp  fight- 
ing. The  enemy  pursued,  but  were  severely  galled  by 
the  fire  from  the  log  barn.  Enraged  at  seeing  his  men 
shot  down,  Tarleton  charged  with  his  cavalry,  but  found 
it  impossible  to  dislodge  the  Americans  from  their  rustic 
fortress.  At  the  approach  of  night  he  fell  back  to  join 
his  infantry,  leaving  the  ground  strewed  with  his  killed 
and  wounded.  The  latter  were  treated  with  great  hu- 
manity by  Sumter.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  was 
only  three  kiUed  and  four  wounded. 

Sumter,  who  had  received  a  severe  wound  in  the 
breast,  remained  several  hours  on  the  field  of  action  , 
but,  understanding  the  enemy  would  be  powerfully  re- 
inforced in  the  morning,  he  crossed  the  Tyger  River  m 
the  night.  He  was  then  placed  on  a  litter  between  two 
horses,  and  thus  conducted  across  the  country  by  a  few 
faithftd  adherents.  The  rest  of  his  Uttle  army  dispersed 
themselves  through  the  woods.  Tarleton,  finding  his 
enemy  had  disappeared,  claimed  the  credit  of  a  victory  , 
but,  those  who  considered  the  affair  rightly,  declared 
that  he  had  received  a  severe  check. 

While  the  attention  of  the  enemy  was  thus  engaged 
by  the  enterprises  of  Sumter  and  Marion  and  their 
swamp  warriors.  General  Gates  was  gathering  together 
the  scattered  fragments  of  his  army  at  Hillsborough. 
When  all  were  collected,  his  whole  force,  exclusive  of 


200  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

militia,  did  not  exceed  fourteen  hundred  men.  It  was, 
as  he  said,  "  rather  a  shadow  than  a  substance."  His 
troops,  disheartened  by  defeat,  were  in  a  forlorn  state, 
without  clothing,  without  pay,  and  sometimes  without 
provisions  Destitute  of  tents,  they  constructed  hovels 
of  fence-rails,  poles,  brushwood,  and  the  stalks  of  Indian 
corn,  the  officers  faring  no  better  than  the  men. 

The  vanity  of  Gates  was  completely  cut  down  by 
his  late  reverses.  He  had  lost,  too,  the  confidence  of 
his  officers,  and  was  unable  to  maintain  disciphne 
among  his  men ;  who  through  their  irregularities  be- 
came a  terror  to  the  country  people. 

On  the  retreat  of  Cornwallis  from  Charlotte,  Gates 
advanced  to  that  place  to  make  it  his  winter-quarters. 
Huts  were  ordered  to  be  built,  and  a  regular  encamp- 
ment was  commenced.  Smallwood,  with  a  body  of 
militia,  was  stationed  below  on  the  Catawba  to  guard 
the  road  leading  through  Camden ;  and  further  down 
was  posted  Brigadier-general  Morgan  with  a  corps  of 
light  troops. 

To  add  to  his  depression  of  spirits.  Gates  received 
the  melancholy  intelligence  of  the  death  of  an  only 
son,  and,  while  he  was  yet  writhing  under  the  blow, 
came  official  despatches  informing  him  of  his  being  su- 
perseded m  command.  A  letter  from  Washington,  we 
are  told,  accompanied  them,  sympathizing  with  him  in 
his  domestic  misfortunes,  adverting  with  peculiar  deli- 
cacy to  his  reverses  in  battle,  assuring  him  of  his  un- 
diminished confidence  in  his  zeal  and  capacity,  and  his  • 
readiness  to  give  him  the  command  of  the  left  vdng  of 
his  army  as  soon  as  he  could  make  it  convenient  to  join 
him. 


1780.]  GREENE   ARRIVES    AT    CHARLOTTE.  201 

The  eflfect  of  this  letter  was  overpowering.  Gates 
was  found  walking  about  his  room  in  the  greatest  agi- 
tation, pressing  the  letter  to  his  lips,  breaking  forth 
into  ejaculations  of  gratitude  and  admiration,  and  when 
he  could  find  utterance  to  his  thoughts,  declared  that 
its  tender  sympathy  and  considerate  delicacy  had  con- 
veyed more  consolation  and  delight  to  his  heart  than 
he  had  beUeved  it  possible  ever  to  have  felt  again.* 

General  Greene  arrived  at  Charlotte,  on  the  2d  of 
December."  On  his  way  from  the  North,  he  had  made 
arrangements  for  supplies  from  the  different  States; 
and  had  left  the  Baron  Steuben  in  Virginia  to  defend 
that  State  and  procure  and  send  on  reinforcements  and 
stores  for  the  Southern  army.  On  the  day  following 
his  arrival,  Greene  took  formal  command.  The  deli- 
cacy with  which  he  conducted  himself  towards  his 
unfortunate  predecessor  is  said  to  have  been  "  edifying 
to  the  army."  Consulting  with  his  officers  as  to  the 
court  of  inquiry  on  the  conduct  of  General  Gates, 
ordered  by  Congress ;  it  was  determined  that  there 
was  not  a  sufficient  number  of  general  officers  in  camp 
to  sit  upon  it ,  that  the  state  of  General  Gates's  feel- 
ings, m  consequence  of  the  death  of  his  son,  disquaU- 
fied  him  from  entering  upon  the  task  of  his  defence  ; 
and  that  it  would  be  indelicate  in  the  extreme  to  press 
on  him  an  investigation,  which  his  honor  would  not 
permit  him  to  defer.  Beside,  added  Greene,  his  is  a 
case  of  misfortune,  and  the  most  honorable  course  to 
be  pursued,  both  with  regard  to  General  Gates  and 

*  Related  by  Dr.  Win.  Read,  at  that  time  superintendent  of  the  Hospital 
department  at  Hillsborough,  to  Alex.  Garden,  aide-de-camp  to  Greene. — Onr- 
ieiis  Anecdotes,  p.  350. 


202  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

the  government,  is  to  make  such  representations  as 
may  obtain  a  revision  of  the  order  of  Congress  direct- 
ing an  inquiry  into  his  conduct.  In  this  opinion  all 
present  concurred. 

Gates,  in  fact,  when  informed  in  the  most  dehcate 
manner  of  the  order  of  Congress,  was  urgent  that  a 
court  of  inquiry  should  be  immediately  convened :  he 
acknowledged  there  was  some  important  evidence  that 
could  not  at  present  be  procured ;  but  he  relied  on  the 
honor  and  justice  of  the  court  to  make  allowance  for 
the  deficiency.  He  was  ultimately  brought  to  acqui- 
esce in  the  decision  of  the  council  of  war  for  the  post- 
ponement, but  declared  that  he  could  not  think  of 
serving  until  the  matter  should  have  been  properly 
investigated.  He  determined  to  pass  the  intenm  on 
his  estate  in  Virginia.  Greene,  in  a  letter  to  Washing- 
ton (December  7th),  writes  :  "  General  Gates  sets  out 
to-morrow  for  the  northward.  Many  officers  think 
very  favorably  of  his  conduct,  and  that,  whenever  an 
inquiry  takes  place,  he  will  honorably  acquit  himself." 

The  kind  and  considerate  conduct  of  Greene  on 
the  present  occasion,  completely  subdued  the  heart  of 
Gates.  The  coldness,  if  not  ill-will,  with  which  he  had 
hitherto  regarded  him,  was  at  an  end,  and,  in  aU  his 
subsequent  correspondence  with  him  he  addressed  him 
in  terms  of  affection. 

We  take  pleasure  in  noting  the  generous  conduct 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  towards  Gates. 
It  was  in  session  when  he  arrived  at  Richmond. 
"  Those  fathers  of  the  commonwealth,"  writes  Col. 
H.  Lee,  in  his  Memoirs,  "  appointed  a  committee  of 
their  body  to  wait  on  the  vanquished  general  and  assure 


1780.]  Greene's  aphorisms.  203 

him  of  their  high  regard  and  esteem,  that  their  remem- 
brance of  his  former  glorious  services  was  never  to  be 
obhterated  by  any  reverse  of  fortune  ;  but,  ever  mind- 
ful of  his  great  merit,  they  would  omit  no  opportunity 
of  testifymg  to  the  world  the  gratitude  which  Virginia, 
as  a  member  of  the  American  Union,  owed  to  him  in 
his  military  character  " 

Gates  was  sensibly  affected  and  comforted  by  this 
kind  reception,  and  retired  with  a  Ughtened  heart  to 
his  farm  m  Berkeley  County. 

The  whole  force  at  Charlotte,  when  Greene  took 
command,  did  not  much  exceed  twenty-three  hundred 
men,  and  more  than  half  of  them  were  militia.  It 
had  been  broken  in  spirit  by  the  recent  defeat.  The 
officers  had  fallen  into  habits  of  negligence ;  the  sol- 
diers were  loose  and  disorderly,  without  tents  and 
camp  equipage ;  badly  clothed  and  fed,  and  prone  to 
reheve  their  necessities  by  depredating  upon  the  inhab- 
itants. Greene's  letters  written  at  the  time,  aboimd 
with  military  aphorisms  suggested  by  the  squalid  scene 
around  him.  "  There  must  be  either  pride  or  princi- 
ple," said  he,  "  to  make  a  soldier.  No  man  will  think 
himself  bound  to  fight  the  battles  of  a  State  that 
leaves  him  perishing  for  want  of  coverhig ;  nor  can 
you  inspire  a  soldier  with  the  sentiment  of  pride  while 
his  situation  renders  him  an  object  of  pity,  rather  than 
of  envy.  Good  feeding  is  the  first  principle  of  good 
service.  It  is  impossible  to  f)reserve  discipline  where 
troops  are  in  want  of  every  thing — ^to  attempt  severity 
will  only  thin  the  ranks  by  a  more  hasty  desertion." 

The  state  of  the  country  in  which  he  was  to  act 
was  equally  discouraging.     "  It  is  so  extensive,"  said 


204  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

he,  "and  the  powers  of  government  so  weak,  that 
every  body  does  as  he  pleases.  The  inhabitants  are 
much  divided  in  their  pohtical  sentiments,  and  the 
whigs  and  tories  pursue  each  other  with  Uttle  less  than 
savage  fury.  The  back  country  people  are  bold  and 
daring ;  but  the  people  upon  the  sea  shore  are  sickly, 
and  but  indifferent  militia." 

"War  here,"  observes  he  in  another  letter,  "is 
upon  a  very  different  scale  to  what  it  is  at  the  North- 
ward. It  is  a  plain  business  there.  The  geography 
of  the  country  reduces  jts  operations  to  two  or  three 
points.  But  here  it  is  every  where ;  and  the  country  is 
so  full  of  deep  rivers  and  impassable  creeks  and  swamps, 
that  you  are  always  liable  to  misfortunes  of  a  capital  na- 
ture. The  whigs  and  tories,"  adds  he,  "  are  continually 
out  in  small  parties,  and  all  the  middle  country  is  so  dis- 
affected that  you  cannot  lay  in  the  most  trifling  maga- 
zine, or  send  a  waggon  through  the  country  with  the 
least  article  of  stores  without  a  guard." 

A  recent  exploit  had  given  some  animation  to  the 
troops.  Lieutenant-colonel  Washington,  detached  with 
a  troop  of  light-horse  to  check  a  foraging  party  of  the 
enemy,  scoured  the  country  within  thirteen  miles  of 
Camden.  Here  he  found  a  body  of  loyalist  mihtia 
strongly  posted  at  Clermont,  the  seat  of  Colonel 
Rugeley,  their  tory  commander.  They  had  ensconced 
themselves  in  a  large  barn,  built  of  logs,  and  had  forti- 
fied it  by  a  sHght  intreijichment  and  a  line  of  abatis. 
To  attack  it  with  cavalry  was  useless.  Colonel  Wash- 
ington dismounted  part  of  his  troops  to  appear  like 
infantry  ,  placed  on  two  waggon- wheels  the  trunk  of 
a  pine-tree,  shaped  and  painted  to  look  like  a  field- 


1780.]     GREENE  REORGANIZES  THE  ARMY.      205 

piece,  brought  it  to  bear  upon  the  enemy,  and,  display- 
ing his  cavalry,  sent  in  a  flag  summoning  the  garnson 
to  surrender  instantly,  on  pain  of  having  their  log  castle 
battered  about  their  ears.  The  garrison,  to  the  num- 
ber of  one  hundred  and  twelve  men,  with  Colonel  Ruge- 
ley  at  their  head,  gave  themselves  up  prisoners  of  war.* 
Cornwallis,  mentioning  the  ludicrous  affair  m  a  letter 
to  Tarleton,  adds  sarcastically  "  Rugeley  will  not  be 
made  a  brigadier  "  The  unlucky  colonel  never  again 
appeared  in  arms. 

The  first  care  of  General  Greene  was  to  reorganize 
his  army.  He  went  to  work  qmetly  but  resolutely  • 
called  no  councils  of  war;  communicated  his  plans 
and  intentions  to  few,  and  such  only  as  were  able  and 
wiUing  to  aid  in  executing  them.  "  If  I  cannot  inspire 
respect  and  confidence  by  an  independent  conduct," 
said  he,  '*  it  will  be  impossible  to  instil  discipline  and 
order  among  the  troops."  His  efforts  were  successful ; 
the  army  soon  began  to  assume  what  he  termed  a  mih- 
tary  complexion. 

He  was  equally  studious  to  promote  harmony 
among  his  officers,  of  whom  a  number  were  young, 
gallant,  and  intelligent.  It  was  his  delight  to  have  them 
at  his  genial  but  simple  table,  where  parade  and  re- 
straint were  banished,  and  pleasant  and  instructive 
conversation  was  promoted ;  which,  next  to  reading, 
was  his  great  enjoyment.  The  manly  benignity  of  his 
manners  diffused  itself  round  his  board,  and  a  common 
sentiment  of  affection  for  their  chief  united  the  young 
men  in  a  kind  of  brotherhood. 

*  Williams*  Narrative. 


206  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

Finding  the  countiy  round  Charlotte  exhausted  by 
repeated  foragings,  he  separated  the  army  into  two 
divisions.  One,  about  one  thousand  strong,  was  com- 
manded by  Brigadier-general  Morgan,  of  rifle  renown, 
and  was  composed  of  four  hundred  Continental  infan- 
try, under  Lieutenant-colonel  Howard  of  the  Maryland 
line,  two  companies  of  Virgmia  militia  under  Captains 
Triplet  and  Tate,  and  one  hundred  dragoons,  under 
Lieutenant-colonel  Washington.  With  these  Morgan 
was  detached  towards  the  district  of  Ninety-Six,  in 
South  Carolina,  with  orders  to  take  a  position  near  the 
confluence  of  the  Pacolet  and  Broad  Rivers,  and 
assemble  the  militia  of  the  country.  With  the  other 
division,  Greene  made  a  march  of  toilful  difficulty 
through  a  barren  country,  with  waggons  and  horses 
quite  unfit  for  service,  to  Hicks'  Creek  in  Chesterfield 
district,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Pedee  River,  opposite 
the  Cheraw  Hills.  There  he  posted  himself  on  the 
26th,  partly  to  discourage  the  enemy  from  attempting 
to  possess  themselves  of  Cross  Creek,  which  would  give 
them  command  of  the  greatest  part  of  the  provisions  of 
the  lower  country — ^partly  to  form  a  camp  of  repose ; 
*'  and  no  army,"  writes  he,  "  ever  wanted  one  more,  the 
troops  having  totally  lost  their  discipline.'* 

"  I  will  not  pain  your  Excellency,"  writes  he  to 
Washington,  "  with  further  accounts  of  the  wants  and 
sufferings  of  this  army ;  but  I  am  not  without  great 
apprehension  of  its  entire  dissolution,  unless  the  com- 
missary's and  quartermaster's  departments  can  be  ren- 
dered more  competent  to  the  demands  of  the  service. 
Nor  are  the  clothing  and  hospital  departments  upon  a 
better  footing.    Not  a  shilling  in  the  pay  chest,  nor  a 


1T80.]        AID  WANTED   FOR  SOUTH   CAROLINA.  207 

prospect  of  any  for  months  to  come.     This  is  really 
makmg  bncks  without  straw." 

Governor  Rutledge  also  wrote  to  Washmgton  from 
Greene's  camp,  on  the  28th  of  December,  imploring 
aid  for  South  Carolina.  "  Some  of  the  stanch  inhab- 
itants of  Charleston,"  writes  he,  "  have  been  sent  to  St. 
Augustine,  and  others  are  to  follow.  The  enemy  have 
hanged  many  people,  who,  from  fear,  or  the  impractica- 
bility of  removing,  had  received  protections  or  given 
paroles,  and  from  attachment  to,  had  afterwards  taken 
part  with  us.  They  have  burnt  a  great  number  of 
houses,  and  turned  many  women,  formerly  of  good  for- 
tune, with  their  children  (Avhom  their  husbands  or  par- 
ents, from  an  unwillingness  to  jom  the  enemy,  had  left) 
almost  naked  into  the  woods.  Their  cruelty  and  the 
distresses  of  the  people  are  indeed  beyond  description. 
I  entreat  your  Excellency,  therefore,  seriously  to  con- 
sider the  unhappy  state  of  South  Carohna  and  Geor- 
gia ;  and  I  rely  on  your  humanity  and  your  knowledge 
of  their  importance  to  the  Union,  for  such  speedy  and 
effectual  support,  as  may  compel  the  enemy  to  evacuate 
every  part  of  these  countries."  * 

*  Correspondence  of  the  Revolution,  iiL,  188. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

HOSTILE  EMBABKATIONS  TO  THE  SOUTH — ARNOLD  IN  COMMAND— NECES- 
SITOUS STATE  OF  THE  COUNTET — WASHINGTON  URGES  A  FOREIGN 
LOAN — AMISSION  OF  COLONEL  LAURENS  TO  FRANCE  TO  SEEK  AID  IN 
MEN  AND  MONET — GRIEVANCES  OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  LINE — MU- 
TINY— NEGOTIATIONS  "WITH  THE  MUTINEERS — ARTICLES  OP  ACCOM- 
MODATION— POLICY  DOUBTED  BY  WASHINGTON — RIGOROUS  COURSE 
ADOPTED  BY  HIM  WITH  OTHER  MALCONTENTS — SUCCESSFUL — RATI- 
FICATION  OF   THE   ARTICLES   OF    CONFEDERATION   OF   THE   STATES. 

The  occurrences  recorded  in  the  last  few  chapters  made 
Washington  apprehend  a  design  on  the  part  of  the  ene- 
my to  carry  the  stress  of  war  into  the  Southern  States. 
Conscious  that  he  was  the  man  to  whom  all  looked  in 
time  of  emergency,  and  who  was,  in  a  manner,  respon- 
sible for  the  general  course  of  military  affairs,  he  deeply 
felt  the  actual  impotency  of  his  position. 

In  a  letter  to  Franklm,  who  was  minister-plenipo- 
tentiary at  the  court  of  Versailles,  he  strongly  expresses 
his  chagrin.  "  Disappointed  of  the  second  division  of 
French  troops,  but  more  especially  in  the  expected  naval 
superiority,  which  was  the  pivot  upon  which  every  thing 
turned ,  we  have  been  compelled  to  spend  an  inactive 
campaign,  after  a  flattering  prospect  at  the  opening  of 
it,  and  vigorous  struggles  to  make  it  a  decisive  one  on 


1780.]  ARNOLD    SENT   TO    VIRGINIA.  209 

our  part.  Latterly,  we  have  been  obliged  to  become 
spectators  of  a  succession  of  detachments  from  the  army 
at  New  York  in  aid  of  Lord  Comwallis,  while  our  naval 
weakness,  and  the  political  dissolution  of  a  great  part  of 
our  army,  put  it  out  of  our  power  to  counteract  them 
at  the  southward,  or  to  take  advantage  of  them  here." 

The  last  of  these  detachments  to  the  South  took 
place  on  the  20th  of  December,  but  was  not  destined,  as 
Washington  had  supposed,  for  Carolina.  Sir  Henry 
CUnton  had  received  information  that  the  troops  already 
mentioned  as  being  under  General  Leslie  in  the  Chesa- 
peake, had,  by  orders  from  Cornwallis,  sailed  for  Charles- 
ton, to  reinforce  his  lordship;  and  this  detachment 
was  to  take  their  place  in  Virginia.  It  was  composed 
of  British,  German,  and  refugee  troops,  about  seven- 
teen hundred  strong,  and  was  commanded  by  Benedict 
Arnold,  now  a  brigadier-general  in  his  majesty's  service. 
Sir  Hemy  Clinton,  who  distrusted  the  fidehty  of  the  man 
he  had  corrupted,  sent  with  him  Colonels  Dundas  and 
Simcoe,  experienced  officers,  by  whose  advice  he  was  to 
be  guided  in  every  important  measure.  He  was  to 
make  an  mcursion  into  Virginia,  destroy  the  public  mag- 
azines, assemble  and  arm  the  loyalists,  and  hold  him- 
self ready  to  co-operate  with  Lord  Cornwallis.  He  em- 
barked his  troops  in  a  fleet  of  small  vessels,  and  de- 
parted on  his  enterprise  animated  by  the  rancorous 
spirit  of  a  renegade,  and  prepared,  as  he  vaunted,  to 
give  the  Amencans  a  blow  "that  would  make  the 
whole  continent  shake."  We  sjjiall  speak  of  his  expedi- 
tion hereafter. 

As  Washington  beheld  one  hostile  armament  after 
another  winging  its  way  to  the  South,  and  received 

VOL.  IV- 14 


210  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

applications  from  that  quarter  for  assistance,  which  he 
had  not  the  means  to  furnish,  it  became  painfully  appa- 
rent to  him,  that  the  efforts  to  carry  on  the  war  had 
exceeded  the  natural  capabilities  of  the  country.  Its 
widely  diffused  population,  and  the  composition  and 
temper  of  some  of  its  people,  rendered  it  difficult  to 
draw  together  its  resources.  Commerce  was  almost  ex- 
tinct ;  there  was  not  sufficient  natural  wealth  on  which 
to  found  a  revenue ;  paper  currency  had  depreciated 
through  want  of  funds  for  its  redemption,  until  it  was 
nearly  worthless.  The  mode  of  supplymg  the  army  by 
assessing  a  proportion  of  the  productions  of  the  earth, 
had  proved  ineffectual,  oppressive,  and  productive  of  an 
alarming  opposition.  Domestic  loans  yielded  but  tri- 
fling assistance.  The  patience  of  the  army  was  nearly 
exhausted ;  the  people  were  dissatisfied  with  the  mode 
of  supporting  the  war,  and  there  was  reason  to  appre- 
hend, that,  under  the  pressure  of  impositions  of  a  new 
and  odious  kind,  they  might  imagine  they  had  only  ex- 
changed one  kind  of  tyranny  for  another. 

We  give  but  a  few  of  many  considerations  which 
Washington  was  continually  urging  upon  the  attention 
of  Congress  in  his  full  and  perspicuous  manner;  the 
end  of  which  was  to  enforce  his  opinion  that  a  foreign 
loan  was  indispensably  necessary  to  a  continuance  of 
the  war. 

His  earnest  counsels  and  entreaties  were  at  length 
successful  in  determining  Congress  to  seek  aid  both  in 
men  and  money  from  abroad.  Accordingly  on  the  28th 
of  December  they  commissioned  Lieutenant-colonel 
John  Laurens,  special  minister  at  the  court  of  Versailles, 
to  apply  for  such  aid.    The  situation  he  had  held,  as 


1780.]  INSTRUCTIONS    TO   LAURENS.  211 

aide-de-camp  to  the  commander-in-chief,  had  given  him 
an  opportunity  of  observing  the  course  of  affairs,  and 
acquainting  himself  with  the  wants  and  resources  of 
the  countrv;  and  he  was  instructed  to  confer  with  Wash- 
ington,  previous  to  his  departure,  as  to  the  objects  of 
his  mission.  Not  content  with  impressing  him  verbal- 
ly with  his  policy,  Washington  gave  him  a  letter  of  m- 
structions  for  his  government,  and  to  be  used  as  occa- 
sion might  require.  In  this  he  advised  him  to  sohcit  a 
loan  sufficiently  large  to  be  a  foundation  for  substantial 
arrangements  of  finance,  to  revive  public  credit,  and  give 
vigor  to  future  operations ; — next  to  a  loan  of  money,  a 
naval  force  was  to  be  desired,  sufficient  to  maintain  a 
constant  superiority  on  the  American  coast ;  also  addi- 
tional succor  in  troops.  In  a  word,  a  means  of  co-opera- 
tion by  sea  and  land,  with  purse  and  sword,  competent  by 
a  decided  effort  to  attain  once  for  all,  the  great  objects 
of  the  alliance,  the  hberty  and  independence  of  the 
United  States. 

He  was  to  show,  at  the  same  time,  the  ample  means 
possessed  by  the  nation  to  repay  the  loan,  from  its  com- 
parative fi-eedom  from  debt,  and  its  vast  and  valuable 
tracts  of  unsettled  lands,  the  vkriety  and  fertility  of  its 
chmates  and  soils,  and  its  advantages  of  every  kind  for 
a  lucrative  commerce,  and  rapid  increase  of  popula- 
tion and  prosperity. 

Scarce  had  Colonel  Laurens  been  appointed  to  this 
mission,  when  a  painful  occurrence  proved  the  urgent 
necessity  of  the  required  aid. 

In  the  arrangement  for  winter-quarters,  the  Penn- 
sylvania line,  consisting  of  six  regiments,  was  hutted 
near  Morristown.    These  troops  had  experienced  the 


212  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1780. 

hardships  and  privations  common  to  the  whole  army. 
General  Wayne,  who  commanded  them,  had  a  soldier's 
sympathy  in  the  sufferings  of  his  men,  and  speaks  of 
them  in  feehng  language :  "  Poorly  clothed,  badly  fed, 
and  worse  paid,"  writes  he,  "  some  of  them  not  having 
received  a  paper  dollar  for  near  twelve  months  ,  exposed 
to  winter's  piercing  cold,  to  drifting  snows  and  chilling 
blasts,  with  no  protection  but  old  worn-out  coats,  tat- 
tered linen  overalls,  and  but  one  blanket  between  three 
men.  In  this  situation,  the  enemy  begin  to  work  upon 
their  passions,  and  have  found  means  to  circulate  some 
proclamations  among  them.  *  *  *  The  officers  in 
general,  as  well  as  myself,  find  it  necessary  to  stand  for 
hours  every  day  exposed  to  wind  and  weather  among 
the  poor  naked  fellows,  while  they  are  working  at  their 
huts  and  redoubts,  often  assisting  with  our  o^Yn  hands, 
in  order  to  produce  a  conviction  to  their  minds  that  we 
share,  and  more  than  share,  every  vicissitude  in  common 
with  them  -.  sometimes  asking  to  participate  their  bread 
and  water.  The  good  effect  of  this  conduct  is  very 
conspicuous,  and  prevents  their  murmuring  in  public ; 
but  the  delicate  mind  and  eye  of  humanity  are  hurt, 
very  much  hurt,  at  their  visible  distress  and  private 
complainings." 

How  strongly  is  here  depicted  the  trials  to  which 
the  soldiers  of  the  Revolution  were  continually  sub- 
jected. But  the  Pennsylvania  line  had  an  additional 
grievance  peculiar  to  themselves.  Many  of  them  had 
enlisted  to  serve  "  for  three  years  or  during  war,"  that 
IS  to  say,  for  less  than  three  years  should  the  war  cease 
in  less  time.  When,  however,  having  served  for  three 
years,  they  sought  their  discharge,  the  officers,  loth  to 


1781.]        REVOLT    OF    THE    PENNSYLVANIA    LINE.  213 

lose  such  experienced  soldiers,  interpreted  the  terms  of 
enlistment  to  mean  three  years,  or  to  the  end  of  the  war 
should  it  continue  for  a  longer  time. 

This  chicanery  naturally  produced  great  exaspera- 
tion. It  was  heightened  by  the  conduct  of  a  deputa- 
tion from  Pennsylvania,  which,  while  it  left  veteran 
troops  unpaid,  distributed  gold  by  handsful  among  raw 
six-month  levies,  whose  time  was  expiring,  as  bounties 
on  their  re-enhsting  for  the  war. 

The  first  day  of  the  New  Year  arrived.  The  men 
were  excited  by  an  extra  allowance  of  ardent  spirits. 
In  the  evening,  at  a  preconcerted  signal,  a  great  part 
of  the  Pennsylvania  line,  non-commissioned  officers  in- 
cluded, turned  out  under  arms,  declaring  their  intention 
to  march  to  Philadelphia,  and  demand  redress  from 
Congress.  Wayne  endeavored  to  pacify  them  ,  they 
were  no  longer  to  be  pacified  by  words.  He  cocked 
his  pistols  ;  in  an  instant  their  bayonets  were  at  his 
breast.  "  We  love,  we  respect  you,"  cried  they,  "  but 
you  are  a  dead  man  if  you  fire.  Do  not  mistake  us ;  we 
are  not  going  to  the  enemy  ,  were  they  now  to  come 
out  you  would  see  us  fight  under  your  orders  with  as 
much  resolution  and  alacritv  as  ever."* 

Their  threat  was  not  an  idle  one.  In  an  attempt 
to  suppress  the  mutiny  there  was  a  bloody  affray,  in 
which  numbers  were  wounded  on  both  sides  ;  among 
whom  were  several  officers.     One  captain  was  killed. 

Three  regiments  which  had  taken  no  part  m  the  mu- 
tiny were  paraded  under  their  officers.  The  mutineers 
compelled  tb^m  to  join  their  ranks.   Their  number  being 

*  Quincy'8  Memoir  of  Major  Shaw,  p.  86. 


214  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

increased  to  about  thirteen  hundred,  they  seized  upon 
six  field-pieces,  and  set  out  in  the  night  for  Philadelphia 
under  command  of  their  sergeants. 

"Fearing  the  enemy  might  take  advantage  of  this  oiit- 
break,  Wayne  detached  a  Jersey  brigade  to  Chatham, 
and  ordered  the  militia  to  be  called  out  there.  Alarm 
fires  were  kindled  upon  the  hills  ;  alarm  guns  boomed 
fi'om  post  to  post ;  the  country  was  soon  on  the  alert. 

Wayne  was  not "  Mad  Anthony"  on  the  present  occa- 
sion. All  his  measures  were  taken  with  judgment  and 
forecast.  He  sent  provisions  after  the  mutineers,  lest 
they  should  supply  their  wants  from  the  country  people 
by  force.  Two  officers  of  rank  spurred  to  Philadelphia, 
to  apprise  Congress  of  the  approach  of  the  insurgents 
and  put  it  upon  its  guard.  Wayne  sent  a  despatch 
with  news  of  the  outbreak  to  Washington  ;  he  then 
mounted  his  horse,  and  accompanied  by  Colonels  Butler 
and  Stewart,  two  officers  popular  with  the  troops,  set 
off  after  the  mutineers,  either  to  bring  them  to  a  halt, 
or  to  keep  with  them,  and  seek  every  occasion  to  exert 
a  favorable  influence  over  them. 

Washington  received  Wayne's  letter  at  his  head- 
quarters at  New  Windsor  on  the  3d  of  January.  His 
first  impulse  was  to  set  out  at  once  for  the  insurgent 
camp.  Second  thoughts  showed  the  impolicy  of  such 
a  move.  Before  he  could  overtake  the  mutineers,  they 
would  either  have  returned  to  their  duty  or  their  affair 
would  be  in  the  hands  of  Congress.  How  far,  too, 
could  his  own  troops  be  left  with  safety,  distressed  as 
they  were  for  clothing  and  provisions  ?  Beside,  the  na- 
vigation of  the  Hudson  was  still  open ;  should  any  dis- 
affection appeal  in  the  neighboring  garrison  of  West 


1781.]   REVOLT  OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  LINE.     215 

Point,  the  British  might  send  up  an  expedition  from 
New  York  to  take  advantage  of  it.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, he  determined  to  continue  at  New  Windsor. 

He  wrote  to  Wayne,  however,  approving  of  his  in- 
tention to  keep  with  the  troops,  and  improve  every  fa- 
vorable interval  of  passion.  His  letter  breathes  that 
paternal  spirit  with  which  he  watched  over  the  army ; 
and  that  admirable  moderation  mingled  with  discipline 
with  which  he  managed  and  moulded  their  wayward 
moods.  "  Opposition,"  said  he,  "  as  it  did  not  succeed 
in  the  first  instance,  cannot  be  effectual  while  the  men 
remain  together,  but  will  keep  alive  resentment,  and 
may  tempt  them  to  turn  about  and  go  in  a  body  to  the 
enemy ;  who,  by  their  emissaries,  will  use  every  argu- 
ment and  means  in  their  power  to  persuade  them  that 
it  is  their  only  asylum  ,  which,  if  they  find  their  passage 
stopped  at  the  Delaware,  and  hear  that  the  Jersey  mi- 
litia are  collecting  m  their  rear,  they  may  think  but  too 
probable.  I  would,  therefore,  recommend  it  to  you  to 
cross  the  Delaware  with  them,  draw  from  them  what 
they  conceive  to  be  their  principal  grievances,  and  pro- 
mise faithfully  to  represent  to  Congress  and  to  the 
State  the  substance  of  them,  and  endeavor  to  obtain  a 
redress.  If  they  could  be  stopped  at  Bristol  or  German- 
town,  the  better.  I  look  upon  it  that  if  you  can  bring 
them  to  a  negotiation,  matters  may  be  afterwards  ac- 
commodated ;  but  that  an  attempt  to  reduce  them  by 
force  will  either  drive  them  to  the  enemy,  or  dissipate 
them  in  such  a  manner  that  they  will  never  be  recov- 
ered.' 

How  clearly  one  reads  in  this  letter  that  temperate 
and  magnanimous  spirit  which  moved  over  the  troubled 


316  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

waters   of  the   Revolution,   allayed  the  fury  of  the 
storms,  and  controlled  every  thing  into  peace. 

Having  visited  the  Highland  posts  of  the  Hudson 
and  satisfied  himself  of  the  fidelity  of  the  garrisons, 
Washington  ordered  a  detachment  of  eleven  hundred 
men  to  be  ready  to  march  at  a  moment's  warning 
General  Knox,  also,  was  despatched  by  him  to  the 
Eastern  States,  to  represent  to  their  governments  the 
alarming  crisis  produced  by  a  long  neglect  of  the  sub- 
sistence of  the  army,  and  to  urge  them  to  send  on 
immediately  money,  clothing,  and  other  supplies  for 
their  respective  lines. 

In  the  mean  time,  as  Washington  had  apprehended. 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  received  intelligence  at  New  York 
of  the  mutiny,  and  hastened  to  profit  by  it.  Emissa- 
ries were  despatched  to  the  camp  of  the  mutineers, 
holding  out  offers  of  pardon,  protection,  and  ample  pay, 
if  they  would  return  to  their  allegiance  to  the  crown. 
On  the  4th  of  January,  although  the  rain  poured  in 
torrents,  troops  and  cannon  were  hurried  on  board  of 
vessels  of  every  description,  and  transported  to  Staten 
Island,  Sir  Henry  accompanpng  them  There  they 
were  to  be  held  in  readiness,  either  to  land  at  Amboy 
in  the  Jerseys,  should  the  revolters  be  drawn  m  that 
direction,  or  to  make  a  dash  at  West  Point,  should  the 
departure  of  Washington  leave  that  post  assailable. 

General  Wayne  and  his  companions.  Colonels  But- 
ler and  Stewart,  had  overtaken  the  insurgent  troops  on 
the  3d  of  January,  at  Middlebrook.  They  were  pro- 
ceeding in  military  form,  under  the  control  of  a  self- 
constituted  board  of  sergeants,  whose  orders  were  im- 
plicitly obeyed.     A  sergeant-major,  who  had  formerly 


1781.]       REVOLT    OF   THE   PENNSYLVANIA   LINE.  217 

deserted  from  the  British  army,  had  the  general  com- 
mand. 

Conferences  were  held  by  Wayne  with  sergeants 
delegated  from  each  regiment.  They  appeared  to  be 
satisfied  with  the  mode  and  promises  of  redress  held 
out  to  them ;  but  the  main  body  of  the  mutmeers  per- 
sisted in  revolt,  and  proceeded  on  the  next  day  to 
Princeton.  Wayne  hoped  they  might  contnme  further 
on,  and  would  gladly  have  seen  them  across  the  Dela- 
ware, beyond  the  influence  of  the  enemy ,  but  their 
leaders  clung  to  Princeton,  lest  in  further  movements 
they  might  not  be  able  to  keep  their  followers  together 
Their  proceedings  continued  to  be  orderly;  military 
forms  were  still  observed ,  they  obeyed  their  leaders, 
behaved  well  to  the  people  of  the  countiy,  and  com- 
mitted no  excesses. 

General  Wayne  and  Colonels  Butler  and  Stewart 
remained  with  them  in  an  equivocal  position ,  popular, 
but  without  authority  and  almost  in  durance.  The 
insm'gents  professed  themselves  still  ready  to  march 
under  them  against  the  enemy,  but  would  permit  none 
other  of  their  former  officers  to  come  among  them. 
The  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  General  St.  Clair  and  Colo- 
nel Laurens,  the  newly  appointed  minister  to  France, 
arrived  at  the  camp  and  were  admitted;  but  after- 
wards were  ordered  away  at  a  short  notice. 

The  news  of  the  revolt  caused  great  consternation 
in  Philadelphia.  A  committee  of  Congress  set  off  to 
meet  the  msm-gents,  accompanied  by  Reed,  the  presi- 
dent of  Pennsylvania,  and  one  or  two  other  officers, 
and  escorted  by  a  city  troop  of  horse.  The  com- 
mittee halted  at  Trenton,  whence  President  Reed  WTote 


218  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

to  Wayne,  requesting  a  personal  interview  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  at  four  miles'  distance  from 
Princeton.  Wayne  was  moreover  told  to  inform  the 
troops,  that  he  (Reed)  would  be  there  to  receive  any 
propositions  from  them,  and  redress  any  mjuries  they 
might  have  sustained ;  but  that,  after  the  indignities 
they  had  offered  to  the  marquis  and  General  St.  Clair, 
he  could  not  venture  to  put  himself  in  their  power. 

Wayne,  knowing  that  the  letter  was  intended  for 
his  troops  more  than  for  himself,  read  it  pubhcly  on  the 
parade.  It  had  a  good  effect  upon  the  sergeants  and 
many  of  the  men.  The  idea  that  the  president  of 
their  State  should  have  to  leave  the  seat  of  government 
and  stoop  to  treat  with  them,  touched  their  sectional 
pride  and  their  home  feelmgs.  They  gathered  round 
the  horseman  who  had  brought  the  letter,  and  inquired 
anxiously  whether  President  Reed  was  unkindly  dis- 
posed towards  them  ;  intimating  privately  their  dishke 
to  the  business  in  which  they  were  engaged. 

Still,  it  was  not  thought  prudent  for  President 
Reed  to  trust  himself  within  their  camp.  Wayne 
promised  to  meet  him  on  the  following  day  (7th), 
though  it  seemed  uncertain  whether  he  was  master  of 
himself,  or  whether  he  was  not  a  kind  of  prisoner. 
Tidings  had  just  been  received  of  the  movements  of 
Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  of  tempting  overtures  he  in- 
tended to  make,  and  it  was  feared  the  men  might  hsten 
to  them.  Three  of  the  light-horse  were  sent  m  the 
direction  of  Amboy  to  keep  a  look-out  for  any  landing 
of  the  enemy. 

At'  this  critical  juncture,  two  of  Sir  Henry's  emis- 
saries arrived  in  the  camp,  and  delivered  to  the  leaders 


1781.]      REVOLT   OP  THE   PENNSYLVANIA   LINE.  219 

of  the  malcontents,  a  paper  containing  his  seductive 
proposals  and  promises.  The  mutineers,  though  openly 
arrayed  in  arms  against  their  government,  spurned  at 
the  idea  of  tuniing  "Arnolds,"  as  they  termed  it. 
The  emissaries  were  seized  and  conducted  to  General 
Wayne,  who  placed  them  in  confinement,  promising 
that  they  should  be  Uberated,  should  the  pending  nego- 
tiation fail. 

This  incident  had  a  great  effect  in  inspiring  hope 
of  the  ultimate  loyalty  of  the  troops ;  and  the  favor- 
able representations  of  the  temper  of  the  men,  made 
by  General  Wayne  in  a  personal  interview,  determmed 
President  Reed  to  venture  among  them.  The  conse- 
quences of  their  desertion  to  the  enemy  were  too  alarm- 
ing to  be  risked.  "  I  have  but  one  life  to  lose,"  said 
he,  "  and  my  country  has  the  first  claim  to  it."  * 

As  he  approached  Princeton  with  his  suite-,  he 
found  guards  regularly  posted,  who  turned  out  and 
saluted  him  in  military  style.  The  whole  line  was 
drawn  out  under  arms  near  the  college  and  the  artillery 
on  the  point  of  firing  a  salute.  He  prevented  it,  lest 
it  should  alarm  the  country.  It  was  a  hard  task  for 
him  to  ride  along  the  line  as  if  reviewing  troops  regu- 
larly organized ;  but  the  crisis  required  some  sacrifice 
of  the  kind.  The  sergeants  were  aU  in  the  places  of 
their  respective  officers,  and  saluted  the  president  as  he 
passed;  never  were  mutineers  more  orderly  and  de- 
corous. 

^  The  propositions  now  offered  to  the  troops  were : 
— ^To  discharge  all  those  who  had  enlisted  indefinitely 

*  Letter  to  the  Executive  Council. 


220  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

for  three  years  or  during  the  war ;  the  fact  to  be  in- 
quired into  by  three  commissioners  appointed  by  the 
executive — ^where  the  original  enlistment  could  not  be 
produced  in  evidence,  the  oath  of  the  soldier  to  suffice. 

To  give  immediate  certificates  for  the  deficit  in 
their  pay  caused  by  the  depreciation  of  the  currency, 
and  the  arrearages  to  be  settled  as  soon  as  circum- 
stances would  permit. 

To  furnish  them  immediately  with  certain  specified 
articles  of  clothing  which  were  most  wanted. 

These  propositions  proving  satisfactory,  the  troops 
set  out  for  Trenton,  where  the  negotiation  was  con- 
cluded. 

Most  of  the  artillerists  and  many  of  the  infantry 
obtained  their  discharges ,  some  on  their  oaths,  others 
on  account  of  the  vague  terms  under  which  they  had 
been  enlisted ,  forty  days'  furlough  was  given  to  the 
rest,  and  thus,  for  a  time,  the  whole  insurgent  force 
was  dissolved. 

The  two  spies  who  had  tampered  with  the  fidelity 
of  the  troops  were  tried  by  a  court-martial,  found 
guilty,  and  hanged  at  the  cross-roads  near  Trenton.  A 
reward  of  fifty  guineas  each,  was  offered  to  two  ser- 
geants who  had  arrested  and  delivered  them  up.  They 
declined  accepting  it ,  saying,  they  had  merely  acted 
by  order  of  the  board  of  sergeants.  The  hundred 
guineas  were  then  offered  to  the  board.  Their  reply 
is  worthy  of  record.  "  It  was  not,"  said  they,  "  for 
the  sake  or  through  any  expectation  of  reward,  but  for 
the  love  of  our  country,  that  we  sent  the  spies  immedi- 
ately to  General  Wayne  ,  we  therefore  do  not  consider 
ourselves  entitled  to  any  other  reward  but  the  love  of 


1T81.]  MUTINY   OF    JERSEY   TROOPS.  221 

our  country,  and  do  jointly  agree,  to  accept  of  no 
other." 

The  accommodation  entered  into  with  the  mutineers 
of  the  Pennsylvania  line  appeared  to  "Washington  of 
doubtful  policy,  and  likely  to  have  a  pernicious  effect 
on  the  whole  army.  His  apprehensions  were  soon  jus- 
tified by  events.  On  the  night  of  the  20th  of  Janu- 
ary, a  part  of  the  Jersey  troops,  stationed  at  Pompton, 
rose  in  arms,  claiming  the  same  terms  just  yielded  to 
the  Pennsylvanians.  Por  a  time,  it  was  feared  the 
revolt  would  spread  throughout  the  line. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  again  on  the  alert.  Troops 
were  sent  to  Staten  Island  to  be  ready  to  cross  into  the 
Jerseys,  and  an  emissary  was  despatched  to  tempt  the 
mutineers  with  seductive  offers. 

In  this  instance,  Washington  adopted  a  more  rigor- 
ous course  than  in  the  other.  The  present  insurgents 
were  not  so  formidable  in  point  of  numbers  as  the 
Pennsylvanians ;  the  greater  part  of  them,  also,  were 
foreigners,  for  whom  he  felt  less  sympathy  than  for 
native  troops.  He  was  convinced  too  of  the  fideHty 
of  the  troops  under  his  immediate  command,  who  were 
from  the  Eastern  States.  A  detachment  from  the  Mas- 
sachusetts line  was  sent  under  Major-general  Howe, 
who  was  instructed  to  compel  the  mutineers  to  uncon- 
ditional submission ,  to  grant  them  no  terms  while  in 
arms,  or  in  a  state  of  resistance ;  and  on  their  surren- 
der, instantly  to  execute  a  few  of  the  most  active  and 
incendiary  leaders.  "You  wiU  also  try,"  added  he, 
"to  avail  yourself  of  the  services  of  the  militia,  repre- 
senting to  them  how  dangerous  to  civil  liberty,  is  the 
precedent  of  armed  soldiers  dictating  to  their  country." 


232  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1781 

His  orders  were  punctually  obeyed,  and  were 
crowned  with  complete  success.  Howe  had  the  good 
fortune,  after  a  tedious  night-march,  to  surprise  the 
mutineers  napping  in  their  huts  just  at  daybreak. 
Five  minutes  only  were  allowed  them  to  parade  with 
out  their  arms  and  give  up  their  ringleaders.  This 
was  instantly  complied  with,  and  two  of  them  were 
executed  on  the  spot.  Thus,  the  mutiny  was  quelled, 
the  officers  resumed  their  command,  and  all  things 
were  restored  to  order.* 

Thus  terminated  an  insurrection,  which,  for  a  time, 
had  spread  alarm  among  the  friends  of  American 
Uberty,  and  excited  the  highest  hopes  of  its  foes.  The 
circumstances  connected  with  it  had  ultimately  a  bene- 
ficial effect  in  strengthening  the  confidence  of  those 
friends,  by  proving  that  however  the  Americans  might 
quarrel  with  their  own  government,  nothing  could 
again  rally  them  under  the  royal  standard. 

A  great  cause  of  satisfaction  to  Washington  was 
the  ratification  of  the  articles  of  confederation  between 
the  States,  which  took  place  not  long  after  this  agita- 
ting juncture.  A  set  of  articles  had  been  submitted 
to  Congress  by  Dr.  Franklin,  as  far  back  as  1775.  A 
form  had  been  prepared  and  digested  by  a  committee 
in  1776,  and  agreed  upon,  with  some  modifications  in 
1777,  but  had  ever  since  remained  in  abeyance,  in  con- 
sequence of  objections  made  by  individual  States. 
The  confederation  was  now  complete,  and  Washington, 
in  a  letter  to  the  President  of  Congress,  congratulated 
him  and  the  body  over  which  he  presided,  on  an  event 

•  Memoir  of  Major  Shaw,  by  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy,  p.  89. 


1781.J       RATIFICATION   OP  THE   CONFEDERACY.  223 

long  wished  for,  and  which  he  hoped  would  have  the 
happiest  effects  upon  the  politics  of  this  country,  and 
be  of  essential  service  to  our  cause  in  Europe. 

It  was,  after  all,  an  instrument  far  less  efficacious 
than  its  advocates  had  anticipated ;  but  it  served  an 
important  purpose  m  binding  the  States  together  as  a 
nation,  and  keeping  them  from  falling  asunder  into 
individual  powers,  after  the  pressure  of  external  danger 
should  cease  to  operate. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

EXPEDITION  OF  AENOLD  IXTO  VIRGINIA. — ^BTTOCANEERING  RAVAGES — 
CHECKED  BT  STEUBEX  —  ARNOLD  AT  PORTSMOTTTH  —  CONGRESS  RE- 
SOLVES TO  FORM  HEADS  OF  DEPARTMENTS — HAMILTON  SUGGESTED  BT 
SULLIVAN  FOB  DEPARTMENT  OF  FINANCE — HIGH  OPINION  OF  HIM  EX- 
PRESSED BY  WASHINGTON — MISUNDERSTANDING  BETWEEN  HAMILTON 
AND  THE  COMMANDER-IN-CniEP. 

The  armament  with  which  Arnold  boasted  he  was  "  to 
shake  the  continent,"  met  with  that  boisterous  weather 
which  often  rages  along  our  coast  in  the  winter. 
His  ships  were  tempest-tost  and  scattered,  and  half  of 
his  cavalry  horses  and  several  of  his  guns  had  to  be 
thrown  overboard.  It  was  the  close  of  the  year  when 
he  anchored  in  the  Chesapeake. 

Virginia,  at  the  time,  was  almost  in  a  defenceless 
state.  Baron  Steuben,  who  had  the  general  command 
there,  had  recently  detached  such  of  his  regular  troops 
as  were  clothed  and  equipped,  to  the  South,  to  reinforce 
General  Greene.  The  remainder,  five  or  six  hundred 
in  number,  deficient  in  clothing,  blankets,  and  tents, 
were  scarcely  fit  to  take  the  field,  and  the  volunteers  and 
mihtia  lately  encamped  before  Portsmouth,  had  been 
disbanded.  Governor  Jefferson ,  on  hearing  of  the  arrival 
of  the  fleet,  called  out  the  militia  from  the  neighbonng 


1781.]  BTICCANEERING   OF    ARNOLD.  225 

jounties  ;  but  few  could  be  collected  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment,  for  the  whole  country  was  terror-stricken  and 
in  confusion.  Havmg  land  and  sea  forces  at  his  com- 
mand, Arnold  opened  the  new  year  with  a  buccaneering 
ravage.  Ascendmg  James  River  with  some  small  vessels 
which  he  had  captured,  he  landed  on  the  fourth  of  Janu- 
ary with  nine  hundred  men  at  Westover,  about  twenty- 
five  miles  below  Richmond,  and  pushed  for  the  latter 
place,  at  that  time  little  more  than  a  village,  though  the 
metropolis  of  Virginia.  Halting  for  the  night  within 
twelve  miles  of  it,  he  advanced  on  the  foUowmg  day 
with  as  much  military  parade  as  possible,  so  as  to  strike 
terror  into  a  militia  patrol,  which  fled  back  to  Rich- 
mond, reporting  that  a  British  force,  fifteen  hundred 
strong,  was  at  hand. 

It  was  Arnold's  hope  to  capture  the  governor ,  but 
the  latter,  after  providing  for  the  security  of  as  much 
as  possible  of  the  pubUc  stores,  had  left  Richmond  the 
evening  before  on  horseback  to  join  his  family  at  Tuck- 
ahoe,  whence,  on  the  following  day,  he  conveyed  them 
to  a  place  of  safety.  Governor  Jefferson  got  back  by 
noon  to  Manchester  on  the  opposite  side  of  James  River, 
in  time  to  see  Arnold's  marauders  march  into  the  town. 
Many  of  the  inhabitants  had  fled  to  the  country ;  some 
stood  terrified  spectators  on  the  hills  ;  not  more  than 
two  hundred  men  were  m  arms  for  the  defence  of  the 
place  ,  these,  after  firing  a  few  volleys,  retreated  to  Rich- 
mond and  Shockoe  Hills,  whence  they  were  driven  by 
the  cavalry,  and  Arnold  had  possession  of  the  capital. 
He  sent  some  of  the  citizens  to  the  governor,  offering 
to  spare  the  town,  provided  his  ships  might  come  up 
James  River  to  be  laden  with  tobacco  from  the  ware- 

VOL.  IV. 15 


226  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

houses.  His  offer  was  indignantly  rejected,  whereupon 
fire  was  set  to  the  public  edifices,  stores,  and  work- 
shops ;  private  houses  were  pillaged,  and  a  great  quan- 
tity of  tobacco  consumed. 

WhQe  this  was  going  on,  Colonel  Simcoe  had  been 
detached  to  Westham,  six  miles  up  the  river,  where  he 
destroyed  a  cannon  foundry  and  sacked  a  pubhc  maga- 
zine ;  broke  off  the  trunnions  of  the  cannon,  and  threw 
into  the  river  the  powder  which  he  could  not  carry  away, 
and,  after  effecting  a  complete  devastation,  rejoined 
Arnold  at  Richmond,  which  during  the  ensuing  night 
resounded  with  the  drunken  orgies  of  the  soldiery. 

Having  completed  his  ravage  at  Richmond,  Arnold 
re-embarked  at  Westover  and  fell  slowly  down  the  river, 
landing  occasionally  to  burn,  plunder,  and  destroy ; 
pursued  by  Steuben  with  a  few  Continental  troops  and 
all  the  militia  that  he  could  muster.  General  Nelson, 
also,  with  similar  levies  opposed  him.  Lower  down  the 
river  some  skirmishing  took  place,  a  few  of  Arnold's 
troops  were  killed  and  a  number  wounded,  but  he  made 
his  way  to  Portsmouth,  opposite  Norfolk,  where  he  took 
post  on  the  20th  of  January  and  proceeded  to  fortify. 

Steuben  would  have  attempted  to  drive  him  from 
this  position,  but  his  means  were  totally  inadequate. 
Collecting  from  various  parts  of  the  country  all  the  force 
that  could  be  mustered,  he  so  disposed  it  at  different 
points  as  to  hem  the  traitor  in,  prevent  his  making 
further  incursions,  and  drive  him  back  to  his  intrench- 
ments  should  he  attempt  any. 

Governor  Jefferson  returned  to  Richmond  after 
the  enemy  had  left  it,  and  wrote  thence  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief an  account  of  this  ravaging  incursion 


1781.]  HEADS   OP    DEPARTMENTS    FORMED.  227 

of  "  the  parricide  Arnold."  It  was  mortifying  to  Wash- 
ington to  see  so  inconsiderable  a  party  committing  such 
extensive  depredations  with  impunity,  but  it  was  his 
opinion  that  their  principal  object  was  to  make  a  diver- 
sion in  favor  of  Comwallis  ,  and  as  the  evils  to  be  ap- 
prehended from  Arnold's  predatory  incursions  were  not 
to  be  compared  with  the  injury  to  the  common  cause, 
and  the  danger  to  Virginia  m  particular,  which  would 
result  from  the  conquest  of  the  States  to  the  southward, 
he  adjured  Jefferson  not  to  permit  attention  to  imme- 
diate safety  so  to  engross  his  thoughts  as  to  divert  him 
from  measures  for  reinforcing  the  Southern  army. 

About  this  time  an  important  resolution  was  adopted 
in  Congress.  Washington  had  repeatedly,  in  his  com- 
munications to  that  body,  attributed  much  of  the  dis- 
tress and  disasters  of  the  war  to  the  congressional  mt)de  of 
conducting  business  through  committees  and  "boards," 
thus  causing  irregularity  and  delay,  preventing  secrecy 
and  augmenting  expense.  He  was  greatly  rejoiced,, 
therefore,  when  Congress  decided  to  appoint  heads  of 
departments ;  secretaries  of  foreign  affairs,  of  war  and  of 
marine,  and  a  superintendent  of  finance.  "  I  am  happy, 
thrice  happy,  on  private  as  well  as  public  account," 
writes  he,  "  to  find  that  these  are  in  train.  For  it  will 
ease  my  shoulders  of  an  immense  burthen,  which  the 
deranged  and  perplexed  situation  of  our  affairs  and  the 
distresses  of  every  department  of  the  army,  had  placed 
upon  them." 

General  Sullivan,  to  whom  this  was  written,  and 
who  was  in  Congress,  was  a  warm  friend  of  Washing- 
ton's aide-de  camp,  Colonel  Hamilton,  and  he  sounded 
the  commander-in-chief  as  to  the  qualifications  of  the 


228  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

colonel  to  take  charge  of  the  department  of  finance. 
"  I  am  unable  to  answer,"  replied  Washington,  "because 
I  never  entered  upon  a  discussion  with  him,  but  this  I 
can  venture  to  advance,  from  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
him,  that  there  are  few  men  to  be  found  of  his  age,  who 
have  more  general  knowledge  than  he  possesses ;  and 
none  whose  soul  is  more  firmly  engaged  in  the  cause, 
or  who  exceeds  him  in  probity  and  sterling  virtue." 

This  was  a  warm  eulogium  for  one  of  Washington's 
circumspect  character,  but  it  was  sincere.  Hamilton 
had  been  four  years  in  his  military  family,  and  always 
treated  by  him  with  marked  attention  and  regard.  In- 
deed it  had  surprised  many  to  see  so  young  a  man  ad- 
mitted like  a  veteran  into  his  counsels.  It  was  but  a 
few  days  after  Washington  had  penned  the  eulogium 
just  quoted,  when  a  scene  took  place  between  him  and 
the  man  he  had  praised  so  hberally,  that  caused  him 
deep  chagnn.  We  give  it  as  related  by  Hamilton  him- 
self in  a  letter  to  General  Schuyler,  one  of  whose  daugh- 
ters he  had  recently  married. 

"  An  unexpected  change  has  taken  place  in  my  situa- 
tion," writes  Hamilton  (Feb.  18).  "I  am  no  longer 
a  member  of  the  general's  family.  This  information 
will  surprise  you,  and  the  manner  of  the  change  will 
surprise  you  more.  Two  days  ago  the  general  and  I 
passed  each  other  on  the  stairs  ; — he  told  me  he  wanted 
to  speak  to  me.  I  answered  that  I  would  wait  on  him 
immediately  I  went  below  and  deUvered  Mr.  Tilgh- 
man  a  letter  to  be  sent  to  the  commissary,  containing 
an  order  of  a  pressing  and  interesting  nature. 

"  Returning  to  the  general,  I  was  stopped  on  the 
way  by  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  and  we  conversed 


1781.]        THE   HAMILTON   MISUNDERSTANDING.  229 

tosether  about  a  minute  on  a  matter  of  business.  He 
can  testify  how  impatient  I  was  to  get  back,  and  that 
I  left  him  in  a  manner,  which,  but  for  our  intimacy, 
would  have  been  more  than  abrupt.  Instead  of  finding 
the  general,  as  is  usual,  in  his  room,  I  met  him  at  the 
head  of  the  stairs,  where  accostmg  me  in  an  angry  tone, 
"  Colonel  Hamilton  (said  he),  you  have  kept  me  waiting 
at  the  head  of  the  stairs  these  ten  minutes ; — I  must 
tell  you,  sir,  you  treat  me  with  disrespect."  I  replied, 
without  petulancy,  but  with  decision.  "  I  am  not  con- 
scious of  it,  sir,  but  since  you  have  thought  it  necessary 
to  tell  me  so,  we  part."  "  Very  well,  sir  (said  he),  if 
it  be  your  choice,"  or  something  to  this  effect,  and  we 
separated.  I  sincerely  believe  my  absence,  which  gave 
so  much  umbrage,  did  not  last  two  minutes. 

"  In  less  than  an  hour  after,  Tilghman  came  to  me 
in  the  general's  name,  assuring  me  of  his  great  confi- 
dence in  my  abilities,  integrity,  usefulness,  &c.,  and  of 
his  desire,  in  a  candid  conversation,  to  heal  a  difference 
which  could  not  have  happened  but  in  a  moment  of 
passion.  I  requested  Mr  Tilghman  to  tell  him, — 1st. 
That  I  had  taken  my  resolution  in  a  manner  not  to  be 
revoked.  2d.  That  as  a  conversation  could  serve  no 
other  purpose  than  to  produce  explanations,  mutually 
disagreeable,  though  I  certainly  would  not  refuse  an 
interview,  if  he  desired  it,  yet  I  would  be  happy,  if  he 
would  permit  me  to  decline  it.  3d.  That  though  de- 
termined to  leave  the  family,  the  same  principles  which 
had  kept  me  so  long  m  it,  would  continue  to  direct  my 
conduct  towards  him  when  out  of  it.  4th.  That,  how- 
ever, I  did  not  wish  to  distress  him,  or  the  public  busi- 
ness, by  quitting  him  before  he  could  derive  other 


230  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

assistance  by  the  return  of  some  of  the  gentlemen  who 
were  absent.  5th.  And  that,  in  the  mean  time,  it  de- 
pended on  him  to  let  our  behaviour  to  each  other  be 
the  same  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  He  consented 
to  decline  the  conversation,  and  thanked  me  for  my  of- 
fer of  continuing  my  aid  in  the  manner  I  had  men- 
tioned. 

"  I  have  given  you  so  particular  a  detail  of  our  differ- 
ence from  the  desire  I  have  to  justify  myself  in  your 
opinion.  Perhaps  you  may  thmk  I  was  precipitate  in 
rejecting  the  overture  made  by  the  general  to  an  accom- 
modation. I  assure  you,  my  dear  sir,  it  was  not  the 
effect  of  resentment;  it  was  the  deliberate  result  of 
maxims  I  had  long  formed  for  the  government  of  my 
own  conduct." 

In  considering  this  occurrence,  as  stated  by  Ham- 
ilton himself,  we  thmk  he  was  in  the  wrong.  His 
hurrying  past  the  general  on  the  stairs  without  pausing, 
although  the  latter  expressed  a  wish  to  speak  with  him , 
his  giving  no  reason  for  his  haste,  having  in  fact  no  ob- 
ject in  hurrying  down  stairs  but  to  deliver  a  letter  to  a 
fellow  aide-de-camp ;  his  tarrying  below,  to  chat  with  the 
Marquis  de  Lafayette,  the  general  all  this  time  remain- 
ing at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  had  certainly  an  air  of 
great  disrespect,  and  we  do  not  wonder  that  the  com- 
mander-in-chief was  deeply  offended  at  being  so  treated 
by  his  youthful  aide-de-camp.  His  expression  of  dis- 
pleasure was  measured  and  dignified,  however  irritated 
he  may  have  been,  and  such  an  explanation,  at  least,  was 
due  to  him,  as  Hamilton  subsequently  rendered  to 
General  Schuyler,  through  a  desire  to  justify  himself  in 
that  gentleman's  opinion.    The  reply  of  Hamilton,  on 


1781.]  MISUNDERSTANDING   OF   HAMILTON.  231 

the  contrary,  savored  very  much  of  petulance,  however 
devoid  he  may  have  considered  it  of  that  quahty,  and 
his  avowed  determination  "to  part,"  simply  because 
taxed  by  the  general  with  want  of  respect,  was  sin- 
gularly curt  and  abrupt. 

Washington's  subsequent  overture,  intended  to 
soothe  the  wounded  sensitiveness  of  Hamilton  and 
soften  the  recent  rebuke,  by  assurances  of  unaltered 
confidence  and  esteem,  strikes  us  as  m  the  highest 
degree  noble  and  gracious,  and  furnishes  another  in- 
stance of  that  magnanimity  which  governed  his  whole 
conduct.  We  trust  that  General  Schuyler,  in  reply  to 
Hamilton's  appeal,  intimated  that  he  had  indeed  been 
precipitate  in  rejecting  such  an  overture. 

The  following  passage  in  Hamilton's  letter  to 
Schuyler  gives  the  real  key  to  his  conduct  on  this  occa- 
sion. 

"I  always  disliked  the  office  of  an  aide-de-camp, 
as  having  in  it  a  kind  of  personal  dependence.  I  re- 
fused to  serve  in  this  capacity  with  two  Major-generals, 
at  an  early  period  of  the  war  Infected,  however,  with 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  times,  an  idea  of  the  General's 
character  overcame  my  scruples,  and  induced  me  to 
accept  his  invitation  to  enter  into  his  family.  *  *  It 
has  been  often  with  great  difficulty  that  I  have  prevailed 
on  myself  not  to  renounce  it ;  but  while,  from  motives  of 
public  utility,  I  was  doing  violence  to  my  feelings,  I 
was  always  determined,  if  there  should  ever  happen  a 
breach  between  us,  never  to  consent  to  an  accommoda- 
tion. I  was  persuaded  that  when  once  that  nice  bar- 
rier which  marked  the  boundaries  of  what  we  owed  to 


232  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

each  other  should  be  thrown  down,  it  might  be  propped 
again,  but  could  never  be  restored." 

Hamilton,  in  fact,  had  long  been  ambitious  of  an 
independent  position,  and  of  some  opportunity,  as  he 
said,  "  to  raise  his  character  above  mediocrity  "  When 
an  expedition  by  Lafayette  against  Staten  Island  had 
been  meditated  in  the  autumn  of  1780,  he  had  applied 
to  the  commander-in-chief,  through  the  Marquis,  for 
the  command  of  a  battalion,  which  was  without  a  field 
officer.  Washington  had  declined  on  the  ground  that 
giving  him  a  whole  battalion  might  be  a  subject  of 
dissatisfaction,  and  that  should  any  accident  happen 
to  him  in  the  actual  state  of  affairs  at  head-quarters, 
the  commander-in-chief  would  be  embarrassed  for  want 
of  his  assistance. 

He  had  next  been  desirous  of  the  post  of  adjutant- 
general,  which  Colonel  Alexander  Scammel  was  about 
to  resign,  and  was  recommended  for  that  office  by  Lafay- 
ette and  Greene,  but,  before  their  recommendations 
reached  Washington,  he  had  already  sent  in  to  Con- 
gress the  name  of  Brigadier-general  Hand,  who  re- 
ceived the  nomination. 

These  disappointments  may  have  rendered  Hamilton 
doubtful  of  his  being  properly  appreciated  by  the  com- 
mander-in-chief ;  impaired  his  devotion  to  him,  and  de- 
termined him,  as  he  says,  "  if  there  should  ever  happen 
a  breach  between  them,  never  to  consent  to  an  accom- 
modation." It  almost  looks  as  if,  in  his  high-strung 
and  sensitive  mood,  he  had  been  on  the  watch  for  an 
offence,  and  had  grasped  at  the  shadow  of  one. 

Some  short  time  after  the  rupture  had  taken  place, 
Washington  received  a  letter  from  Lafayette,  then  ab- 


1Y81.]  THE   RECONCILIATION.  233 

sent  in  Virginia,  in  which  the  Marquis  observes,  "  con- 
sidering the  footing  I  am  upon  with  your  Excellency, 
it  would,  perhaps,  appear  strange  to  you  that  I  never 
mentioned  a  cu'cumstance  which  lately  happened  in 
your  family.  I  was  the  first  who  knew  of  it,  and  from 
that  moment  exerted  every  means  in  my  power  to  pre- 
vent a  separation,  which  I  knew  was  not  agreeable  to 
your  Excellency  To  this  measure  I  was  prompted  by 
affection  to  you ;  but  I  thought  it  was  improper  to 
mentioa  any  thing  about  it,  until  you  were  pleased  to 
impart  it  to  me." 

The  following  was  Washington's  reply  :  "  The  event, 
which  you  seem  to  speak  of  with  regret,  my  friendship 
for  you  would  most  assuredly  have  induced  me  to  im- 
part to  you  the  moment  it  happened,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  request  of  Hamilton,  who  desired  that  no  men- 
tion should  be  made  of  it.  Why  this  injunction  on 
me,  while  he  was  communicating  it  himself,  is  a  little 
extraordinary.  But  I  complied,  and  religiously  fulfilled 
it. 

We  are  happy  to  add  that  though  a  temporary 
coolness  took  place  between  the  commander-in-chief 
and  his  late  favorite  aide-de-camp,  it  was  but  temporary 
The  friendship  between  these  illustrious  men  was  des- 
tmed  to  survive  the  revolution  and  to  signalize  itself 
through  many  eventful  years,  and  stands  recorded  in 
the  correspondence  of  Washington  almost  at  the  last 
moment  of  his  life* 

*  His  last  letter  to  Hamilton,  in  which  he  assures  him  of  "  his  very  great 
esteem  and  regard,"  was  written  by  Washington  but  two  days  before  his  death. 
Spabks,  zi.,  469. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

OOBNWALLIS  PREPARES  TO  INVADE  NOBTH  OAKOLIXA — TARLETON  SEUT 
AGAINST  MORGAN — BATTLE  AT  OOWPENS — ^MORGAN  PUSHES  FOB  THE 
OATAWBA  WITH  8P0ILS  AND  PRISONERS — OOBNWALLIS  ENDEAVORS  TO 
INTEROEPT  HIM — THE    RISING   OP   THE    EIVEB — OOBNWALLIS   AT   HAM- 

sour's  mills. 

The  stress  of  war,  as  Washington  apprehended,  was  at 
present  shifted  to  the  South.  In  a  former  chapter,  we 
left  General  Greene,  in  the  latter  part  of  December, 
posted  with  one  division  of  his  army  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Pedee  river  in  North  Carolina,  having  detached 
General  Morgan  with  the  other  division,  one  thousand 
strong,  to  take  post  near  the  confluence  of  the  Pacolet 
and  Broad  rivers  in  South  Carolina. 

Cornwallis  lay  encamped  about  seventy  miles  to  the 
south-west  of  Greene,  at  Winnsborough  in  Fairfield 
district.  General  Leslie  had  recently  arrived  at  Charles- 
ton from  Virginia,  and  was  advancing  to  reinforce  him 
with  fifteen  hundred  men.  This  would  give  Corn- 
wallis such  a  superiority  of  force  that  he  prepared  for 
a  second  invasion  of  North  Carohna.  His  plan  was  to 
leave  Lord  Rawdon  at  the  central  post  of  Camden  with 
a  considerable  body  of  troops  to  keep  all  quiet,  while 
his  lordship  by  rapid  marches  would  throw  himself  be- 


1781.]     TARLETON    SENT  IN    QUEST   OF   MORGAN.        235 

tween  Greene  and  Virginia,  cut  him  off  from  all  rein- 
forcements from  that  quarter,  and  obhge  him  either  to 
make  battle  with  his  present  force,  which  would  be 
ruinous  to  him,  or  retreat  precipitately  from  North 
Carolina,  which  would  be  disgraceful.*  In  either  case 
Cornwallis  counted  on  a  general  rising  of  the  Royalists  ; 
a  re-establishment  of  regal  government  in  the  Carolinas, 
and  the  clearmg  away  of  all  impediments  to  further 
triumphs  in  Virginia  and  Maryland. 

By  recent  information,  he  learnt  that  Morgan  had 
passed  both  the  Catawba  and  Broad  Rivers,  and  was 
about  seventy  miles  to  the  northwest  of  him,  on  his 
way  to  the  district  of  Ninety-six.  As  he  might  prove 
extremely  formidable  if  left  in  his  rear,  Tarleton  was 
sent  in  quest  of  him  with  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  of  his  famous  cavalry,  a  corps  of  legion  and  light 
infantry  and  a  number  of  the  royal  artillery  with  two 
field-pieces ,  about  eleven  hundred  choice  troops  in  all. 
His  instructions  were  to  pass  Broad  River  for  the  pro- 
tection of  Ninety-six,  and  either  to  strike  at  Morgan 
and  push  him  to  the  utmost ;  or  to  drive  him  out  of 
the  country,  so  as  to  prevent  his  giving  any  trouble  on 
that  side. 

Cornwallis  moved  with  his  main  force  on  the  12th 
of  December,  in  a  northwest  direction  between  the 
Broad  River  and  the  Catawba,  leading  toward  the 
back  country.  This  was  for  the  purpose  of  crossing 
the  great  rivers  at  their  fords  near  their  sources ;  for 
they  are  fed  by  innumerable  petty  streams  which  drain 
the  mountains,  and  are  apt  in  the  winter  time,  when 

*  Cornwallis  to  Lord  George  Germain,  March  17. 


236  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

storms  of  rain  prevail,  to  swell  and  become  impassable 
below  their  forks.  He  took  this  route  also,  to  cut  ofiF 
Morgan's  retreat,  or  prevent  his  junction  with  Greene, 
should  Tarleton's  expedition  fail  of  its  object.  General 
Leslie,  whose  arrival  was  daily  expected,  was  to  mov 
up  along  the  eastern  side  of  the  Wateret  and  Catawba, 
keeping  parallel  with  his  lordship  and  joining  him 
above.  Every  thing  on  the  part  of  Comwallis  was 
well  planned  and  seemed  to  promise  him  a  successful 
campaign. 

Tarleton,  after  several  days'  hard  marching,  came 
upon  the  traces  of  Morgan,  who  was  posted  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Pacolet,  to  guard  the  passes  of  that 
river.  He  sent  word  to  Comwallis  of  his  intention  to 
force  a  passage  across  the  river  and  compel  Morgan 
either  to  fight  or  retreat,  and  suggested  that  his  lordship 
should  proceed  up  the  eastern  bank  of  Broad  River  so 
as  to  be  at  hand  to  co-operate.  His  lordship,  in  conse- 
quence, took  up  a  position  at  Turkey  Creek  on  Broad 
River. 

Morgan  had  been  recruited  by  North  Carolina  and 
Georgia  militia,  so  that  his  force  was  nearly  equal  in 
number  to  that  of  Tarleton,  but,  in  point  of  cavalry 
and  discipline,  vastly  inferior.  Comwallis,  too,  was  on 
his  left  and  might  get  in  his  rear ;  checking  his  impulse, 
therefore,  to  dispute  the  passage  of  the  Pacolet,  he 
crossed  that  stream  and  retreated  towards  the  upper 
fords  of  Broad  River. 

Tarleton  reached  the  Pacolet  on  the  evening  of  the 
1 5th,  but  halted  on  observing  some  troops  on  the  oppo- 
site bank.  It  was  merely  a  party  of  observation  which 
Morgan  had  left  there,  but  he  supposed  that  officer  to 


1780.]  BATTLE   OP   THE   COWPENS.  237 

be  there  in  full  force.  After  some  manoeuvring  to 
deceive  his  adversary,  he  crossed  the  river  before  day- 
hght  at  Easterwood  shoals.  There  was  no  opposition. 
Still  he  proceeded  warily,  until  he  learnt  that  Morgan, 
instead  of  being  in  his  neighborhood,  was  in  full  march 
toward  Broad  River.  Tarleton  now  pressed  on  in  pur- 
suit. At  ten  o'clock  at  night  he  reached  an  encamp- 
ment which  Morgan  had  abandoned  a  few  hours  previ- 
ously, apparently  in  great  haste,  for  the  camp  fires 
were  still  smoking,  and  provisions  had  been  left  behind 
half-cooked.  Eager  to  come  upon  his  enemy  while  in 
the  confusion  of  a  hurried  flight,  Tarleton  allowed  his 
exhausted  troops  but  a  brief  repose,  and,  leaving 
his  baggage  under  a  guard,  resumed  his  dogged  march 
about  two  o'clock  in  the  night,  tramping  forward 
through  swamps  and  rugged  broken  grounds,  round 
the  western  side  of  Thickety  Mountain.  A  little  before 
dayhght  of  the  17th,  he  captured  two  videttes,  from 
whom  he  learnt  to  his  surprise,  that  Morgan,  instead 
of  a  headlong  retreat,  had  taken  a  night's  repose,  and 
was  actually  preparing  to  give  him  battle. 

Morgan,  m  fact,  had  been  urged  by  his  officers  to 
retreat  across  Broad  River,  which  was  near  by,  and 
make  for  the  mountainous  country  ;  but,  closely  pressed 
as  he  was,  he  feared  to  be  overtaken  while  fording  the 
river,  and  while  his  troops  were  fatigued  and  m  confu- 
sion ;  beside,  being  now  nearly  equal  in  number  to  the 
enemy,  mihtary  pride  would  not  suffer  him  to  avoid  a 
combat. 

The  place  where  he  came  to  halt,  was  known  in 
the  early  grants  by  the  name  of  Hannah's  Cowpens, 
being  part  of  a  grazing  estabUshment  of  a  man  named 


238  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

Hannah.  It  was  in  an  open  wood,  favorable  to  the 
action  of  cavalry.  There  were  two  eminences  of 
unequal  height,  and  separated  from  each  other  by  an 
interval  about  eighty  yards  wide.  To  the  first  emi- 
nence, which  was  the  highest,  there  was  an  easy  ascent 
of  about  three  hundred  yards.  On  these  heights  Mor- 
gan had  posted  himself.  His  flanks  were  unprotected, 
and  the  Broad  River,  running  parallel  on  his  rear,  about 
six  miles  distant,  and  winding  round  on  the  left,  would 
cut  off  retreat,  should  the  day  prove  unfortunate. 

The  ground,  in  the  opinion  of  tacticians,  was  not 
well  chosen ,  Morgan,  a  veteran  bush-fighter,  vindi- 
cated it  in  after  times  in  his  own  characteristic  way. 
"  Had  I  crossed  the  river,  one  half  of  the  militia  would 
have  abandoned  me.  Had  a  swamp  been  in  view, 
they  would  have  made  for  it.  As  to  covering  my 
wnigs,  I  knew  the  foe  I  had  to  deal  with,  and  that 
there  would  be  nothing  but  downright  fighting  As 
to  a  retreat,  I  wished  to  cut  off  all  hope  of  one. 
Should  Tarleton  surround  me  with  his  cavalry,  it  would 
keep  my  troops  from  breaking  away,  and  make  them 
depend  upon  their  bayonets.  When  men  are  forced  to 
fight,  they  will  sell  their  lives  dearly." 

In  arranging  his  troops  for  action,  he  drew  out  his 
infantry  in  two  hnes.  The  first  was  composed  of  the 
North  and  South  Carolina  militia,  under  Colonel  Pick- 
ens, having  an  advanced  corps  of  North  Carolina  and 
Georgia  volunteer  riflemen.  This  line,  on  which  he 
had  the  least  dependence,  was  charged  to  wait  until  the 
enemy  were  within  dead  shot ;  then  to  take  good  aim, 
fire  two  volleys  and  fall  back. 

The  second  line,  drawn  up  a  moderate  distance  in 


1781.]  BATTLE   OF   THE   COWPENS.  239 

the  rear  of  the  first,  and  near  the  hrow  of  the  main 
eminence,  was  composed  of  Colonel  Howard's  light 
infantry  and  the  Virginia  riflemen ,  all  Contmental 
troops.  They  were  informed  of  the  orders  which  had 
been  given  to  the  first  line,  lest  they  should  mistake 
their  falling  back  for  a  retreat.  Colonel  Howard  had 
the  command  of  this  Hne,  on  which  the  greatest  reh- 
ance  was  placed. 

About  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  the  rear  of  the 
second  line,  and  on  the  slope  of  the  lesser  eminence, 
was  Colonel  Washington's  troop  of  cavalry,  about 
eighty  strong;  with  about  fifty  mounted  Carolinian 
volunteers,  under  Major  McCall,  armed  with  sabres 
and  pistols. 

British  writers  of  the  day  gave  Morgan  credit  for 
uncommon  ability  and  judgment  in  the  disposition  of 
his  force ,  placing  the  mihtia,  in  whom  he  had  no  great 
confidence,  in  full  view  on  the  edge  of  the  wood,  and 
keeping  his  best  troops  out  of  sight,  but  drawn  up  in 
excellent  order  and  prepared  for  all  events.* 

It  was  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  (Jan. 
17th,)  when  Tarleton  came  up.  The  position  of  the 
Americans  seemed  to  him  to  give  great  advantage  to 
his  cavalry,  and  he  made  hasty  preparation  for  immedi- 
ate attack,  anticipating  an  easy  victory.  Part  of  his 
infantry  he  formed  into  a  line,  with  dragoons  on  each 
flank.  The  rest  of  the  infantry  and  cavaby  were  to 
be  a  reserve  and  to  wait  for  orders. 

There  was  a  physical  difference  in  the  condition  of 
the  adverse  troops.    The  British  were  haggard  from 

*  Ajmnal  Register,  1781,  p.  66. 


240  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

want  of  sleep  and  a  rough  night-tramp ,  the  Ameri- 
cans, on  the  contrary,  were  fresh  from  a  night's  rest, 
invigorated  by  a  morning's  meal,  and  deliberately 
drawn  up.  Tarleton  took  no  notice  of  these  circum- 
stances, or  disregarded  them.  Impetuous  at  all  times, 
and  now  confident  of  victory,  he  did  not  even  wait 
until  the  reserve  could  be  placed,  but  led  on  his  first 
line,  which  rushed  shouting  to  the  attack.  The  North 
Carolina  and  Georgia  riflemen  in  the  advance,  delivered 
their  fire  with  effect,  and  fell  back  to  the  flanks  of 
Pickens'  militia.  These,  as  they  had  been  instructed, 
waited  until  the  enemy  were  within  fifty  yards  and  then 
made  a  destructive  volley,  but  soon  gave  way  before 
the  push  of  the  bayonet.  The  British  infantry  pressed 
up  to  the  second  line,  while  forty  of  their  cavalry 
attacked  it  on  the  right,  seeking  to  turn  its  flank. 
Colonel  Howard  made  a  brave  stand,  and  for  some 
time  there  was  a  bloody  conflict ;  seeing  himself,  how- 
ever, in  danger  of  being  outflanked,  he  endeavored  to 
change  his  front  to  the  right.  His  orders  were  misun- 
derstood, and  his  troops  were  falling  into  confusion, 
when  Morgan  rode  up  and  ordered  them  to  retreat  over 
the  hiU,  where  Colonel  Washington's  cavalry  were  hur- 
ried forward  for  their  protection. 

The  British,  seeing  the  troops  retiring  over  the 
hill,  rushed  forward  irregularly  in  pursuit  of  Avhat  they 
deemed  a  routed  foe.  To  their  astonishment,  they 
were  met  by  Colonel  Washington's  dragoons,  who 
spurred  on  them  impetuously,  while  Howard's  infantry 
facing  about,  gave  them  an  effective  volley  of  musketry 
and  then  charged  with  the  bayonet. 

The  enemy  now  fell  into  complete  confusion.    Some 


1781.]  BATTLE   OF   THE    COWPENS.  241 

few  artillery-men  attempted  to  defend  their  guns,  but 
were  cut  down  or  taken  prisoners,  and  the  cannon 
and  colors  were  captured.  A  panic  seized  upon  the 
British  troops,  aided  no  doubt  by  fatigue  and  exhaus- 
tion. A  general  flight  took  place.  Tarleton  endeavored 
to  bring  his  legion  cavalry  into  action  to  retrieve  the 
day.  They  had  stood  aloof  as  a  reserve,  and  now, 
infected  by  the  panic,  turned  their  backs  upon  their 
commander,  and  galloped  off  through  the  woods,  ridmg 
over  the  flying  infantry. 

Fourteen  of  his  officers,  however,  and  forty  of  his 
dragoons  remained  true  to  him ;  with  these  he  attempted 
to  withstand  the  attack  of  Washington's  cavalry  and  a 
fierce  melee  took  place,  but  on  the  approach  of  How- 
ard's infantry  Tarleton  gave  up  all  for  lost,  and  spurred 
off  with  his  few  but  faithful  adherents,  trusting  to  the 
speed  of  their  horses  for  safety.  They  made  for  Ham- 
ilton's ford  on  Broad  River,  thence  to  seek  the  mam 
army  under  Comwallis. 

The  loss  of  the  British  in  this  action  was  ten  offi- 
cers and  above  one  hundred  men  killed,  two  hundred 
wounded,  and  between  five  and  six  hundred  rank  and 
file  made  prisoners ;  while  the  Americans  had  but 
twelve  men  killed  and  sixty  wounded.  The  disparity 
of  loss  shows  how  complete  had  been  the  confusion 
and  defeat  of  the  enemy.  "  During  the  whole  period 
of  the  war,"  says  one  of  their  own  ^vriters,  "  no  othej 
action  reflected  so  much  dishonor  on  the  British 
arms.    * 

The  spoils  taken  by  Morgan,  according  to  his  own 


*  Stedman,  ii.  p.  S24. 
VOL.  IV. — 16 


242  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

account,  were  two  field-pieces,  two  standards,  eight  hun- 
dred muskets,  one  travelhng  forge,  thirty-five  waggons, 
seventy  negroes,  upwards  of  one  hundred  dragoon- 
horses,  and  all  the  music.  The  enemy,  however,  had 
destroyed  most  of  their  baggage,  which  was  immense. 

Morgan  did  not  linger  on  the  field  of  battle.  Leav- 
ing Colonel  Pickens  with  a  body  of  militia  under  the 
protection  of  a  flag,  to  bury  the  dead  and  provide  for 
the  wounded  of  both  armies,  he  set  out  the  same  day 
about  noon,  with  his  prisoners  and  spoils.  Lord  Corn- 
wallis,  with  his  main  force,  was  at  Turkey  Creek, 
only  twenty-five  miles  distant,  and  must  soon  hear 
of  the  late  battle.  His  object  was  to  get  to  the 
Catawba  before  he  could  be  intercepted  by  his  lord- 
ship, who  lay  nearer  than  he  did  to  the  fords  of  that 
river.  Before  nightfall  he  crossed  Broad  River  at  the 
Cherokee  ford  and  halted  for  a  few  hours  on  its 
northern  bank.  Before  daylight  of  the  18th  he  was 
again  on  the  march.  Colonel  Washington,  who  had 
been  m  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  rejoined  him  in  the 
course  of  the  day,  as  also  did  Colonel  Pickens,  who 
had  left  such  of  the  wounded  as  could  not  be  moved, 
under  the  protection  of  the  flag  of  truce. 

Still  fearing  that  he  might  be  intercepted  before  he 
could  reach  the  Catawba,  he  put  his  prisoners  in 
charge  of  Colonel  Washington  and  the  cavalry,  with 
orders  to  move  higher  up  into  the  country  and  cross 
the  main  Catawba  at  the  Island  ford ;  while  he  himself 
pushed  forward  for  that  river  by  the  direct  route ,  thus 
to  distract  the  attention  of  the  enemy  should  they  be 
in  pursuit,  and  to  secure  his  prisoners  from  being 
recaptured. 


1781.]  CORNWALLIS    PURSUES    MORGAN.  243 

Cornwallis,  on  the  eventful  day  of  the  17th,  was  at 
his  camp  on  Turkey  Creek,  confidently  waiting  for 
tidings  from  Tarleton  of  a  new  triumph,  when,  towards 
evenmg,  some  of  his  routed  dragoons  came  straggling 
into  camp,  haggard  and  forlorn,  to  tell  the  tale  of  his 
defeat.  It  was  a  thunder-stroke.  Tarleton  defeated ! 
and  by  the  rude  soldier  he  had  been  so  sure  of 
entrapping!  It  seemed  mcredible.  It  was  confirmed, 
however,  the  next  morning  by  the  arrival  of  Tarleton 
himself,  discomfited  and  crest-fallen.  In  his  account 
of  the  recent  battle,  he  represented  the  force  under 
Morgan  to  be  two  thousand.  This  exaggerated  esti- 
mate, together  with  the  idea  that  the  militia  would 
now  be  out  in  great  force,  rendered  his  lordship 
cautious.  Supposing  that  Morgan,  elated  by  his  vic- 
tory, would  linger  near  the  scene  of  his  triumph,  or 
advance  toward  Ninety-six,  CornwaUis  remained  a 
day  or  two  at  Turkey  Creek  to  collect  the  scattered 
remains  of  Tarleton's  forces  and  to  await  the  arrival  of 
General  Leslie,  whose  march  had  been  much  retarded 
by  the  waters,  but  who  "was  at  last  out  of  the 
swamps." 

On  the  19th,  having  been  rejoined  by  Leslie,  his 
lordship  moved  towards  King's  Creek,  and  thence  in 
the  direction  of  King's  Mountain,  until  informed  of 
Morgan's  retreat  toward  the  Catawba.  CornwaUis 
,now  altered  his  course  m  that  direction,  and,  trusting 
that  Morgan,  encumbered  as  he  supposed  him  to  be, 
by  prisoners  and  spoils,  might  be  overtaken  before  he 
could  cross  that  river,  detached  a  part  of  his  force, 
without  baggage,  in  pursuit  of  him,  while  he  followed 
on  with  the  remainder. 


244  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

Nothing,  say  the  British  chroniclers,  could  exceed 
the  exertions  of  the  detachment ;  but  Morgan  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  the  Catawba  and  crossing  it  in  the 
evening  just  two  hours  before  those  in  pursuit  of  him 
arrived  on  its  banks.  A  heavy  rain  came  on  and  fell 
aU  night,  and  by  daybreak  the  river  was  so  swollen  as 
to  be  impassable.* 

This  sudden  swelling  of  the  river  was  considered 
by  the  Americans  as  something  providential.  It  con- 
tinued for  several  days,  and  gave  Morgan  time  to  send 
off  his  prisoners  who  had  crossed  several  miles  above, 
and  to  call  out  the  mihtia  of  Mecklenburg  and  Rowan 
Counties  to  guard  the  fords  of  the  river,  f 

Lord  Comwallis  had  moved  slowly  with  his  mam 
body.  He  was  encumbered  by  an  immense  train  of 
baggage ;  the  roads  were  through  deep  red  clay  and 
the  country  was  cut  up  by  streams  and  morasses.  It 
was  not  until  the  25th,  that  he  asembled  his  whole 
force  at  Ramsour's  Mills,  on  the  Little  Catawba,  as 
the  south  fork  of  that  river  is  called,  and  learnt  that 
Morgan  had  crossed  the  main  stream.  Now  he  felt 
the  loss  he  had  sustained  in  the  late  defeat  of  Tarleton, 
of  a  great  part  of  his  light  troops,  which  are  the  life 
and  spirit  of  an  army,  and  especially  efficient  in  a  thinly 
peopled  country,  of  swamps  and  streams,  and  forests, 
hke  that  he  was  entangled  in. 

*  Stedman,  ii.  326.  Connrallis  to  Sir  H.  Clinton ;  see  also  Remembrancer, 
1781,  part  1.  303. 

f  This  sudden  STrelling  of  the  river  has  been  stated  by  some  writers  as 
having  taken  place  on  the  29th,  on  the  approach  of  ComwaUis's  main  force, 
■whereas  it  took  place  on  the  23d,  on  the  approach  of  the  detachment  sent  by 
his  lordship  in  advance  in  pm-suit  of  Morgan.  The  inaccuracy  as  to  date  has 
given  rise  to  disputes  among  historians. 


1781.]     CORNWALLIS    DESTROYS    HIS    BAGGAGE.  245 

In  this  crippled  condition,  he  determined  to  reheve 
his  army  of  every  thing  that  could  impede  rapid 
movement  m  his  future  operations.  Two  days,  there- 
fore, were  spent  by  him  at  Ramsour's  Mills,  m  destroy- 
ing all  such  baggage  and  stores  as  could  possibly 
be  spared.  He  began  with  his  o^vn.  His  officers 
followed  his  example.  Superfluities  of  all  kinds  were 
sacrificed  without  flinching.  Casks  of  wine  and  spir- 
ituous liquors  were  staved ;  quantities  even  of  provisions 
were  sacrificed.  No  waggons  were  spared  but  those 
laden  with  hospital  stores,  salt  and  ammunition,  and 
four  empty  ones,  for  the  sick  and  wounded.  The 
alacrity  with  which  these  sacrifices  of  comforts,  conve- 
niences, and  even  necessaries,  were  made,  was  honorable 
to  both  officers  and  men.* 

The  whole  expedient  was  subsequently  sneered  at 
by  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  as  being  "  something  too  like  a 
Tartar  move ; "  but  his  lordship  was  preparing  for  a 
tnal  of  speed,  where  it  was  important  to  carry  as  light 
weight  as  possible. 

*  Annual  Register,  1781,  p.  58. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

GEEENE  JOINS  MOSaAN  ON  THE  CATAWBA — ADOPTS  THE  FABL4.N  POL- 
ICY— ^MOVEMENT  OF  COBNWALLIS  TO  CROSS  THE  CATAWBA — AFFAIR 
AT  MCOOWAn's  FORD — MILITIA  SURPRISED  BY  TABLETON  AT  TAR- 
EANt's  TAVERN — CORNWALLIS  CHECKED  BY  THE  RISING  OF  THE  TAB- 
KIN — CONTEST  OF  SKILL  AND  SPEED  OF  THE  TWO  ARMIES  IN  A 
MARCH  TO  THE  BANES  OF  THE  DAN. 

General  Greene  was  gladdened  by  a  letter  from  Mor- 
gan, written  shortly  after  his  defeat  of  Tarleton,  and 
transmitted  the  news  to  Washington  with  his  own  gen- 
erous comments.  "  The  victory  was  complete,"  writes 
he,  "  and  the  action  glorious.  The  brilUancy  and  suc- 
cess with  which  it  was  fought,  does  1^  highest  honor 
to  the  American  arms,  and  adds  splendor  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  general  and  his  officers.  I  must  beg  leave 
to  recommend  them  to  your  excellency's  notice,  and 
doubt  not  but  from  your  representation.  Congress  will 
receive  pleasure  from  testifying  their  approbation  of 
their  conduct." 

Another  letter  from  Morgan,  written  on  the  25th, 
spoke  of  the  approach  of  Cornwallis  and  his  forces. 
"  My  numbers,"  writes  he,  "  are  at  this  time  too  weak 
to  fight  them.  I  intend  to  move  towards  Sahsbury,  to 
get  near  the  main  army.    I  think  it  would  be  advisa- 


1781.]       GREENE  HASTENS   TO    MORGAN's    CAMP.        247 

ble  to  join  our  forces,  and  fight  them  before  they  join 
Phillips,  which  they  certainly  will  do  if  they  are  not 
stopped." 

Greene  had  recently  received  intelligence  of  the  land- 
ing of  troops  at  Wilmington,  from  a  British  squadron, 
supposed  to  be  a  force  under  Arnold,  destmed  to  push 
up  Cape  Eear  River,  and  co-operate  with  CornwaUis , 
he  had  to  prepare,  therefore,  not  only  to  succor  Morgan, 
but  to  prevent  this  co-operation.  He  accordingly  de- 
tached General  Stevens  with  his  Virginian  militia  (whose 
term  of  service  was  nearly  expired)  to  take  charge  of 
Morgan's  prisoners,  and  conduct  them  to  Charlottesville 
in  Virginia.  At  the  same  time  he  wrote  to  the  Gover- 
nors of  "North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  for  all  the  aid  they 
could  furnish ,  to  Steuben,  to  hasten  forward  his  recrmts, 
and  to  Shelby,  Campbell  and  others,  to  take  arms  once 
more,  and  rival  their  achievements  at  King's  Moun- 
tain. 

This  done,  he  left  General  Huger  in  command  of 
the  division  on  the  Pedee,  with  orders  to  hasten  on  by 
forced  marches  to  SaUsbury,  to  join  the  other  division ; 
in  the  mean  time  he  set  off  on  horseback  for  Morgan's 
camp,  attended  merely  by  a  guide,  an  aide-de-camp, 
and  a  sergeant's  guard  of  dragoons,  ^is  object  was  to 
aid  Morgan  in  assembling  militia  and  checking  the 
enemy  until  the  junction  of  his  forces  could  be  effected. 
It  was  a  hard  ride  of  upwards  of  a  hundred  mUes 
through  a  rough  country.  On  the  last  day  of  Januaiy 
he  reached  Morgan's  camp  at  Sherrard's  ford  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Catawba.  The  British  army  lay  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  but  a  few  miles  distant  from 
it,  and  appeared  to  be  making  preparations  to  force  a 


248  LIFE   OF    WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

passage  across,  as  it  was  subsiding,  and  would  soon  be 
fordable.  Greene  supposed  Corawallis  had  in  view  a 
junction  with  Arnold  at  Cape  Fear ;  he  wrote,  therefore, 
to  General  Huger  to  hurry  on,  so  that  with  their  united 
forces  they  could  give  his  lordship  a  defeat  before  he 
could  effect  the  junction.  "  /  am  not  without  hopes," 
writes  he,  ''  of  ruining  Lord  Cornwallis  if  he  persists  in 
his  mad  scheme  of  pushing  through  the  country ,  and  it 
is  my  earnest  desire  to  form  a  junction  as  early  for  this 
pui'pose  as  possible.  Desire  Colonel  Lee  to  force  a 
march  to  join  us.  Here  is  a  fine  field,  and  great  glory 
ahead." 

More  correct  information  relieved  him  from  the  ap- 
prehension of  a  co-operation  of  Arnold  and  Cornwallis. 
The  British  troops  which  had  landed  at  Wilmington, 
were  merely  a  small  detachment  sent  from  Charleston 
to  estabhsh  a  military  depot  for  the  use  of  ComwaUis 
in  his  southern  campaign.  They  had  taken  possession 
of  Wilmington  without  opposition. 

Greene  now  changed  his  plans.  He  was  aware  of 
the  ill-provided  state  of  the  British  army,  from  the  vol- 
imtaiy  destruction  of  their  waggons,  tents  and  baggage. 
Indeed  when  he  first  heard  of  this  measure,  on  his  arriv- 
ing at  Sherrard's  ford,  he  had  exclaimed .  "  Then  Corn- 
wallis is  ours."  His  plan  now  was  to  tempt  the  enemy 
continually  with  the  prospect  of  a  battle,  but  continually 
to  elude  one ;  to  harass  them  by  a  long  pursuit,  draw 
them  higher  into  the  country,  and  gain  time  for  the  di- 
vision advancing  under  Huger  to  join  him.  It  was  the 
Fabian  policy  that  he  had  learnt  under  Washington, 
of  whom  he  prided  himself  on  being  a  disciple. 

As  the  subsiding  of  the  Catawba  would  enable 


1781.]  AFFAIR  AT   MCGOWAN's   FORD.  249 

CornwaUis  to  cross,  Greene  ordered  Morgan  to  move 
off  silently  with  his  division,  on  the  evening  of  the  31st, 
and  to  press  his  march  all  night,  so  as  to  gain  a  good 
start  m  advance,  while  he  (Greene)  would  remam  to 
brmg  on  the  militia,  who  were  employed  to  check  the 
enemy  These  militia,  assembled  from  the  neighboring 
counties,  did  not  exceed  five  hundred.  Two  hundred 
of  them  were  distributed  at  different  fords ;  the  remain- 
ing three  hundred,  forming  a  corps  of  mounted  riflemen 
under  General  Davidson,  were  to  watch  the  movements 
of  the  enemy,  and  attack  him  wherever  he  should  make 
his  main  attempt  to  cross.  When  the  enemy  should 
have  actually  crossed,  the  different  bodies  of  militia 
were  to  make  the  best  of  their  way  to  a  rendezvous,  six- 
teen miles  distant,  on  the  road  to  Salisbury,  where 
Greene  would  be  waiting  to  receive  them,  and  conduct 
their  further  movements. 

AVhile  these  dispositions  were  being  made  by  the 
American  commander,  Cornwalhs  was  prepanng  to  cross 
the  river.  The  night  of  the  31st  was  chosen  for  the 
attempt.  To  divert  the  attention  of  the  Americans,  he 
detached  Colonels  Webster  and  Tarleton  with  a  part  of 
the  army  to  a  pubhc  ford  called  Beattie's  ford,  where 
he  supposed  Davidson  to  be  stationed.  There  they 
were  to  open  a  cannonade,  and  make  a  feint  of  forcing 
a  passage.  The  main  attempt,  however,  was  to  be  made 
six  miles  lower  down,  at  McGowan's,  a  private  and  un- 
frequented ford,  where  little,  if  any,  opposition  was  an- 
ticipated. 

CornwaUis  set  out  for  that  ford,  with  the  main  body 
of  his  army,  at  one  o'clock  m  the  morning.  The 
night  was  dark  and  rainy.    He  had  to  make  his  way 


250  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

through  a  wood  and  swamp  where  there  was  no  road. 
His  artillery  stuck  fast.  The  line  passed  on  without 
them.  It  was  near  daybreak  by  the  time  the  head  of 
the  column  reached  the  ford.  To  their  surpnse,  they 
beheld  numerous  camp  fires  on  the  opposite  bank. 
Word  was  hastily  carried  to  Comwalhs  that  the  ford 
was  guarded.  It  was  so  indeed  :  Davidson  was  there 
with  his  riflemen. 

His  lordship  would  have  waited  for  his  artillery, 
but  the  rain  was  still  falling,  and  might  render  the 
river  unfordable.  At  that  place,  the  Catawba  was 
nearly  five  hundred  yards  vdde,  about  three  feet  deep, 
very  rapid,  and  full  of  large  stones.  The  troops  entered 
the  river  in  platoons,  to  support  each  other  against  the 
current,  and  were  ordered  not  to  fire  until  they  should 
gam  the  opposite  bank.  Colonel  Hall,  of  the  light  in- 
fantry of  the  guards,  led  the  way  ,  the  grenadiers  fol- 
lowed. The  noise  of  the  water  and  the  darkness 
covered  their  movements  until  they  were  nearly  half- 
way across,  when  they  were  descried  by  an  American 
sentinel.  He  challenged  them  three  times,  and  receiv- 
ing no  answer,  fired.  Terrified  by  the  report,  the  man 
who  was  guiding  the  British  turned  and  fled.  Colonel 
Hall,  thus  abandoned,  led  the  way  directly  across  the 
river ;  whereas  the  true  ford  inclined  diagonally  further 
down.  Hall  had  to  pass  through  deeper  water,  but  he 
reached  a  part  of  the  bank  where  it  was  unguarded. 
The  American  pickets,  too,  which  had  turned  out  at  the 
alarm  given  by  the  sentinel,  had  to  deliver  a  distant  and 
slanting  fire.  Still  it  had  its  effect.  Three  of  the 
British  were  killed,  and  thirty-six  wounded.  Colonel 
Hall  pushed  on  gallantly,  but  was  shot  down  as  he  as- 


1781.]  AFFAIR  AT   MCGOWAN's    FORD.  251 

cended  the  bank.  The  horse  on  which  Comwallis  rode 
was  wounded,  but  the  brave  animal  carried  his  lordship 
to  the  shore,  where  he  sank  under  him.  The  steed  of 
Brigadier-general  O'Hara  rolled  over  with  him  into  the 
water,  and  General  Leslie's  horse  was  borne  away  by 
the  tumultuous  current  and  mth  diffipulty  recovered. 

General  Davidson  hastened  with  his  men  towards 
the  place  where  the  Bntish  were  landing.  The  latter 
formed  as  soon  as  they  found  themselves  on  firm  ground, 
charged  Davidson's  men  before  he  had  tune  to  get  them 
in  order,  killed  and  wounded  about  forty,  and  put  the 
rest  to  flight. 

General  Davidson  was  the  last  to  leave  the  ground, 
and  was  killed  just  as  he  was  mounting  his  horse. 
When  the  enemy  had  effected  the  passage,  Tarleton 
was  detached  with  his  cavalry  in  pursuit  of  the  militia, 
most  of  whom  dispersed  to  their  homes.  Eager  to 
avenge  his  late  disgrace,  he  scoured  the  country,  and 
made  for  Tarrant's  tavern,  about  ten  miles  distant, 
where  about  a  hundred  of  them  had  assembled  from 
different  fords,  on  their  way  to  the  rendezvous,  and 
were  refreshing  themselves.  As  Tarleton  came  clatter- 
ing upon  them  with  his  legion,  they  ran  to  their  horses, 
delivered  a  hasty  fire,  which  emptied  some  of  his  saddles, 
and  then  made  for  the  woods  ,  a  few  of  the  worst 
mounted  were  overtaken  and  slain.  Tarleton  m  his 
account  of  his  campaigns  made  the  number  nearly 
fifty  ;  but  the  report  of  a  Bntish  ofiicer,  who  rode  over 
the  ground  shortly  aftenvards,  reduced  it  to  ten.  The 
truth  probably  lay  between.  The  survivors  were  dis- 
persed beyond  rallying.  Tarleton,  satisfied  with  his 
achievement,  rejoined  the  main  body.     Had  he  scoured 


252  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [I'^Sl. 

the  country  a  few  miles  further,  General  Greene  and 
his  suite  might  have  fallen  into  his  hands.* 

The  general,  informed  that  the  enemy  had  crossed 
the  Catawba  at  daybreak,  awaited  anxiously  at  the  ren- 
dezvous the  arrival  of  the  militia.  It  was  not  until 
after  midnight  that  he  heard  of  their  utter  dispersion, 
and  of  the  death  of  Davidson.  Apprehending  the  rapid 
advance  of  Cornwallis,  he  hastened  to  rejom  Morgan, 
who  with  his  division  was  pushing  forward  for  the 
Yadkin,  first  sending  orders  to  General  Huger  to  con- 
duct the  other  division  by  the  most  direct  route  to 
Guilford  Court-house,  where  the  forces  were  to  be 
united.  Greene  spurred  forward  through  heavy  ram 
and  deep  miry  roads.  It  was  a  dreary  ride  and  a  lonely 
one,  for  he  had  detached  his  aides-de-camp  in  different 
directions,  to  collect  the  scattered  militia.  At  mid-day 
he  alighted,  weary  and  travel-stained,  at  the  inn  at 
Salisbury,  where  the  army  physician  who  had  charge 
of  the  sick  and  wounded  prisoners  received  him  at  the 
door,  and  enquired  after  his  well-being :  "  Fatigued, 
hungry,  alone,  and  penniless,'*  was  Greene's  heavy- 
hearted  reply.  The  landlady,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Steele, 
overheard  his  desponding  words.  While  he  was  seated 
at  table,  she  entered  the  room,  closed  the  door,  and 
drawing  from  under  her  apron  two  bags  of  money, 
which  she  had  carefully  hoarded  in  those  precarious 
times,  "  Take  these,"  said  the  noble-hearted  woman  ; " 
"  you  will  want  them,  and  I  can  do  without  them." 
This  is  one  of  the  numberless  instances  of  the  devoted 
patriotism  of  our  women  during  the  revolution.  Their 
patriotism  was  apt  to  be  purer  and  more  disinterested 
than  that  of  the  men. 


1781.]         CORNWALLIS    CROSSES    THE   YADKIN.  253 

Comwallis  did  not  advance  so  rapidly  as  had  been 
apprehended.  After  crossing  the  Catawba  he  had  to 
wait  for  his  waggons  and  artillery,  which  had  remained 
on  the  other  side  in  the  woods  ;  so  that  by  nightfall  of 
the  1st  of  February  he  was  not  niore  than  five  miles  on 
the  road  to  Salisbury.  Eager  to  come  up  with  the 
Americans,  he  mounted  some  of  the  infantry  upon  the 
baggage  horses,  joined  them  to  the  cavalry,  and  sent  the 
whole  forward  under  General  O'Hara.  They  arrived 
on  the  banks  of  the  Yadkin  at  night,  between  the  2d 
and  3d  of  February,  just  in  time  to  capture  a  few  wag- 
gons lingering  in  the  rear  of  the  American  army,  which 
had  passed.  The  riflemen  who  guarded  them  retreated 
after  a  short  skirmish.  There  were  no  boats  with 
which  to  cross ;  the  Americans  had  secured  them  on 
the  other  side.  The  rain  which  had  fallen  throughout 
the  day  had  overflooded  the  ford  by  which  the  Amen- 
can  cavaby  had  passed.  The  pursuers  were  again 
brought  to  a  stand.  After  some  doubt  and  delay, 
Comwallis  took  his  course  up  the  south  side  of  the  Yad- 
kin, and  crossed  by  what  is  still  called  the  Shallow 
ford,  while  Greene  continued  on  unmolested  to  Guil- 
ford Court-house,  where  he  was  joined  by  General 
Huger  and  his  division  on  the  9th. 

Cornwalhs  was  now  encamped  about  twenty-five 
miles  above  them,  at  the  old  Moravian  town  of  Salem. 
Greene  summoned  a  council  of  war  (almost  the  only 
time  he  was  known  to  do  so),  and  submitted  the  ques- 
tion whether  or  not  to  offer  battle.  There  was  an  unan- 
imous vote  in  the  negative.  A  fourth  part  of  the  force 
was  on  the  sick  list,  from  nakedness  and  exposure. 
The  official  returns  gave  but  two  thousand  and  thirty- 


254  LIFE   OP  WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

six,  rank  and  file,  fit  for  duty.   Of  these  upwards  of  six 
hundred  were  militia. 

Cornwallis  had  from  twenty-five  hundred  to  three 
thousand  men,  mcluding  three  hundred  cavalry,  all 
thoroughly  disciplmed  and  well  equipped.  It  was  de- 
termined to  continue  the  retreat. 

The  great  object  of  Greene  now  was  to  get  across 
the  river  Dan,  and  throw  himself  into  Virginia. 
With  the  remforcements  and  assistance  he  might  there 
expect  to  find,  he  hoped  to  effect  the  salvation  of  the 
South,  and  prevent  the  dismemberment  of  the  Union. 
The  object  of  Cornwallis  was  to  get  between  him  and 
Virginia,  force  him  to  a  combat  before  he  could  receive 
those  remforcements,  or  enclose  him  in  between  the 
great  rivers  on  the  west,  the  sea  on  the  east,  and  the 
two  divisions  of  the  British  army  under  himself  and 
Lord  Rawdon  on  the  north  and  south.  His  lordship 
had  been  informed  that  the  lower  part  of  the  Dan,  at 
present,  could  only  be  crossed  in  boats,  and  that  the 
country  could  not  afford  a  sufficient  number  for  the 
passage  of  Greene's  army ;  he  trusted,  therefore,  to  cut 
him  off  from  the  upper  part  of  the  river  Avhere  alone  it 
was  fordable.  Greene,  however,  had  provided  against 
such  a  contingency.  Boats  had  been  secured  at  vari- 
ous places  by  his  agents,  and  could  be  collected  at  a  few 
hours'  notice  at  the  lower  ferries.  Instead,  therefore, 
of  striving  with  his  lordship  for  the  upper  fords,  Greene 
shaped  his  course  for  Boyd's  and  Irwin's  fords,  just 
above  the  confluence  of  the  Dan  and  Staunton  rivers 
which  forms  the  Roanoke,  and  about  seventy  miles  from 
Guilford  Court-house.  This  would  give  hun  twenty- 
five  miles  advantage  of  Lord  Cornwallis  at  the  outset. 


1781.]  A   SEVERE   MARCH.  255 

General  Kosciuszko  was  sent  with  a  party  in  advance  to 
collect  the  boats  and  throw  up  breastworks  at  the 
femes. 

In  ordering  his  march,  General  Greene  took  the 
lead  with  the  main  body,  the  baggage,  and  stores. 
General  Morgan  would  have  had  the  command  of  the 
rear-guard,  composed  of  seven  hundred  of  the  most  alert 
and  active  troops,  cavalry  and  light  infantry ;  but,  bemg 
disabled  by  a  violent  attack  of  ague  and  rheumatism, 
it  was  given  to  Colonel  Otho  H.  Williams  (formerly 
Adjutant-general),  who  had  with  him  Colonels  Howard, 
Washington,  and  Lee. 

This  corps,  detached  some  distance  m  the  rear,  did 
infinite  service.  Being  lightly  equipped,  it  could  ma- 
noeuvre m  front  of  the  British  line  of  march,  break  down 
bridges,  sweep  off'  provisions,  and  impede  its  progress 
in  a  variety  of  ways,  while  the  main  body  moved  for- 
ward unmolested.  It  was  now  that  CornwaUis  most 
felt  the  severity  of  the  blow  he  had  received  at  the  battle 
of  the  Cowpens  m  the  loss  of  his  light  troops,  having 
so  few  to  cope  with  the  ehte  corps  under  Williams. 

Great  abilities  were  shown  by  the  commanders  on 
either  side  in  this  momentous  trial  of  activity  and  skill. 
It  was  a  long  and  severe  march  for  both  armies,  through 
a  wild  and  rough  countiy,  thinly  peopled,  cut  up  by 
streams,  partly  covered  by  forests,  along  deep  and 
frozen  roads,  under  drenching  rains,  without  tents  at 
night,  and  with  scanty  supplies  of  provisions.  The 
British  suffered  the  least,  for  they  were  well  equipped 
and  comfortably  clad ;  whereas  the  poor  Americans  were 
badly  off  for  clothing,  and  many  of  them  without  shoes. 
The  patriot  armies  of  the  revolution,  however,  were  ac- 


256  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

customed  in  their  mnter  marches  to  leave  evidences  of 
their  hardships  in  bloody  foot-prmts. 

We  forbear  to  enter  into  the  details  of  this  masterly 
retreat,  the  many  stratagems  and  manoeuvres  of  the 
covermg  party  to  delay  and  hoodwink  the  enemy. 
Tarleton  himself  bears  witness  in  his  narrative  that 
every  measiu-e  of  the  Americans  was  judiciously  de- 
signed and  vigorously  executed.  So  much  had  Com- 
wallis  been  misinformed  at  the  outset  as  to  the  means 
below  of  passing  the  river,  and  so  difficult  was  it,  from 
want  of  light  troops,  to  gain  information  while  on  the 
march,  that  he  pushed  on  in  the  firm  conviction  that 
he  was  driving  the  American  army  into  a  trap,  and 
would  give  it  a  signal  blow  before  it  could  cross  the  Dan. 

In  the  mean  time,  Greene,  with  the  mam  body, 
reached  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  succeeded  in  cross- 
ing over  with  ease  in  the  course  of  a  single  day  at  Boyd's 
and  Irwin's  ferries,  sending  back  word  to  "Williams, 
who  with  his  covering  party  was  far  in  the  rear.  That 
intelligent  officer  encamped,  as  usual,  in  the  evening,  at 
a  wary  distance  in  front  of  the  enemy,  but  stole  a  march 
upon  them  after  dark,  leaving  his  camp  fires  burning. 
He  pushed  on  all  night,  arrived  at  the  ferry  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  15th,  having  marched  forty  miles  within  the 
last  four  and  twenty  hours ;  and  made  such  despatch 
in  crossing,  that  his  last  troops  had  landed  on  the  Vir- 
ginia shore  by  the  time  the  astonished  enemy  arrived 
on  the  opposite  bank.  Nothing,  according  to  their  own 
avowal,  could  surpass  the  grief  and  vexation  of  the 
British  at  discovering,  on  their  arrival  at  Boyd's  ferry, 
"  that  all  their  toil  and  exertions  had  been  vain,  and 
that  all  their  hopes  were  frustrated."* 

*  Aanaal  Register.  1781. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

OOBUWALLia     TAKES     POST     AT     niLLSBOROUGH — HIS     PROCLAMATION — 
GBKEXE  RECR0SSE3  THE  DAX — OOUNTRT  SCOURED  BY  LEE  AND  PICKENS 

AFFAIE  WITH  COLONEL  PTLE — MANOEUVRES  OF  CORNWALLISTO  BRING 

GREENE     TO   ACTION — BATTLE    OF   GtTILFOBD   COURT-HOUSE GREENE 

EETBEATS  TO  TROUBLESOME  CREEK — OOBNWALLIS  MARCHES  TOWARD 
CAPE  FEVR — GREENE  PURSUES  HIM — IS  BROUGHT  TO  A  STAND  AT 
DEEP  RIVER — DETERMINES  TO  FACE  ABOUT  AND  CARRY  THE  WAR  INTO 
SOUTH  CAROLINA — CORNWALLIS  MARCHES  FOR  VIRGINIA. 

For  a  day  the  two  armies  lay  panting  within  sight  of 
each  other  on  the  opposite  banks  of  the  river,  which 
had  put  an  end  to  the  race.  In  a  letter  to  Thomas 
Jefferson,  dated  the  day  of  the  crossing,  Greene  writes : 
"  On  the  Dan  river,  almost  fatigued  to  death,  having 
had  a  retreat  to  conduct  of  upwards  of  two  hundred 
miles,  manoeuvring  constantly  in  the  face  of  the  enemy 
to  give  time  for  the  militia  to  turn  out  and  get  off  our 
stores."  And  to  Washington  he  writes  (Feb.  15), 
"  Lord  Comwallis  has  been  at  our  heels  from  day  to 
day  ever  since  we  left  Guilford,  and  our  movements 
from  thence  to  this  place  have  been  of  the  most  critical 
kind,  having  a  river  in  our  front  and  the  enemy  in  our 
rear.  The  miserable  condition  of  the  troops  for  cloth- 
ing has  rendered  the  march  the  most  painful  imagina- 

VOL.  IV. — 17 


258  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

ble,  many  hundred  of  the  soldiers  tracking  the  ground 
with  their  bloody  feet.  Your  feelings  for  the  sufferings 
of  the  soldier,  had  you  been  with  us,  would  have  been 
severely  tried."  He  concludes  by  an  honorable  testi- 
monial in  their  favor ,  "  Our  army  are  in  good  spirits, 
notwithstanding  their  sufferings  and  excessive  fatigue." 

On  the  16th,  the  river  began  to  subside;  the 
enemy  might  soon  be  able  to  cross.  Greene  prepared 
for  a  further  retreat  by  sending  forward  his  baggage 
on  the  road  to  Halifax,  and  securing  the  passage  of 
the  Staunton.  At  Halifax  he  was  resolved  to  make  a 
stand,  rather  than  suffer  the  enemy  to  take  possession 
of  it  without  a  struggle.  Its  situation  on  the  Roanoke 
would  make  it  a  strong  position  for  their  army,  sup- 
ported by  a  fleet,  and  would  favor  their  designs  both 
on  Virginia  and  the  Carolmas.  With  a  view  to  its 
defence,  intrenchments  had  already  been  thrown  up, 
under  the  direction  of  Kosciuszko. 

Lord  Comwallis,  however,  did  not  deem  it  prudent, 
under  present  circumstances,  to  venture  into  Virginia, 
where  Greene  would  be  sure  of  powerful  reinforce- 
ments. North  Carohna  was  in  a  state  of  the  utmost 
disorder  and  confusion ;  he  thought  it  better  to  remain 
in  it  for  a  time  and  profit  by  having  compelled  Greene 
to  abandon  it.  After  giving  his  troops  a  day's  repose, 
therefore,  he  put  them  once  more  in  motion  on  the 
18th,  along  the  road  by  which  he  had  pursued  Greene. 
The  latter,  who  was  incessantly  on  the  alert,  was 
informed  of  this  retrograde  move,  by  a  preconcerted 
signal;  the  waving  of  a  white  handkerchief,  under 
covert  of  the  opposite  bank,  by  a  female  patriot. 

This  changed  the  game.     Lee,  with  his  legion, 


1781].  PROCLAMATION    OP    CORNWALLIS.  259 

strengthened  by  two  veteran  Maryland  companies,  and 
.  Pickens,  with  a  corps  of  South  Carolina  militia,  all 
light  troops,  were  transported  across  the  Dan  in  the 
boats,  with  orders  to  gain  the  front  of  Comwallis, 
hover  as  near  as  safety  would  permit,  cut  off  his 
intercourse  with  the  disaffected  parts  of  the  country 
and  check  the  rising  of  the  royalists.  "  If  we  can  but 
delay  him  for  a  day  or  two,"  said  Greene,  "  he  must 
be  ruined."  Greene,  in  the  meanwhile,  remained  with 
his  main  force  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Dan ; 
waiting  to  ascertain  his  lordship's  real  designs,  and 
ready  to  cross  at  a  moment's  warning. 

The  movements  of  CornwaUis,  for  a  day  or  two, 
were  of  a  dubious  nature,  designed  to  perplex  his 
opponents;  on  the  20th,  however,  he  took  post  at 
Hillsborough.  Here  he  erected  the  royal  standard,  and 
issued  a  proclamation,  stating  that,  whereas  it  had 
pleased  Divine  Providence  to  prosper  the  operations  of 
his  majesty's  arms  in  driving  the  rebel  army  out  of 
the  province,  he  invited  all  his  loyal  subjects  to  hasten 
to  this  standard  with  their  arms  and  ten  days'  provi- 
sions, to  assist  m  suppressing  the  remains  of  rebeUion, 
and  re-estabhshing  good  order  and  constitutional  gov- 
ernment. 

By  another  instrument,  aU  who  could  raise  inde- 
pendent companies  were  called  upon  to  give  in  their 
names  at  head-quarters,  and  a  bounty  in  money  and 
lands  was  promised  to  those  who  should  enlist  under 
them.  The  companies  thus  raised  were  to  be  formed 
into  regiments. 

These  sounding  appeals  produced  but  little  effect 
on  the  people  of  the  surrounding  districts.    Many 


260  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

hundreds,  says  Tarleton,  rode  into  the  camp  to  talk 
over  the  proclamation,  inquire  the  news  of  the  day, 
and  take  a  view  of  the  king's  troops.  The  generality 
seemed  desirous  of  peace,  but  averse  from  any  exertion 
to  procure  it.  They  acknowledged  that  the  Contmen- 
tals  had  been  chased  out  of  the  province,  but  appre- 
hended they  would  soon  return.  "  Some  of  the  most 
zealous,"  adds  he,  "  promised  to  raise  companies  and 
even  regiments,  but  their  followers  and  dependents 
were  slow  to  enlist."  Tarleton  himself,  was  forthwith 
detached  with  the  cavalry  and  a  small  body  of  infantry, 
to  a  region  of  country  lying  between  the  Haw  and 
Deep  Rivers,  to  bring  on  a  considerable  number  of 
loyalists  who  were  said  to  be  assembling  there. 

Rumor,  in  the  mean  time,  had  magnified  the  effect 
of  his  lordship's  proclamations.  Word  was  brought 
to  Greene,  that  the  tories  were  flocking  from  all  quar- 
ters to  the  royal  standard.  Seven  companies,  it  was 
said,  had  been  raised  in  a  single  day.  At  this  time  the 
reinforcements  to  the  American  camp  had  been  httle 
more  than  six  hundred  Virginia  mihtia,  under  General 
Stevens.  Greene  saw  that  at  this  rate,  if  Comwallis 
were  allowed  to  remain  undisturbed,  he  would  soon 
have  complete  command  of  North  Carolina ;  he  boldly 
determined,  therefore,  to  recross  the  Dan  at  all  hazards 
with  the  scanty  force  at  his  command,  and  give  his 
lordship  check.  In  this  spirit  he  broke  up  his  camp 
and  crossed  the  river  on  the  23d. 

In  the  mean  time,  Lee  and  Pickens,  who  were 
scouting  the  country  about  Hillsborough,  received 
information  of  Tarleton's  recruiting  expedition  to  the 
region,  between  the  Haw  and  Deep  Rivers.      There 


1781.]  AFFAIR  WITH    PYLe's   LOYALISTS.  26] 

was  no  foe  they  were  more  eager  to  cope  with ;  and 
they  resolved  to  give  him  a  surprise.  Having  forded 
the  Haw  one  day  about  noon,  they  learnt  from  a  coun- 
tryman that  Tarleton  was  encamped  about  three  miles 
off,  that  his  horses  were  unsaddled,  and  that  every 
thing  indicated  confident  security.  They  now  pushed 
on  under  covert  of  the  woods,  prepared  to  give  the 
bold  partisan  a  blow  after  his  own  fashion.  Before 
they  reached  the  place  Tarleton  had  marched  on ;  they 
captured  two  of  his  staff,  however,  who  had  remained 
behind,  settling  with  the  people  of  a  farm-house  for 
suppUes  furnished  to  the  detachment. 

Being  informed  that  Tarleton  was  to  halt  for  the 
night  at  the  distance  of  six  miles,  they  still  trusted  to 
surprise  him.  On  the  way,  however,  they  had  an 
encounter  with  a  body  of  three  or  four  hundred 
mounted  royalists,  armed  with  nfles,  and  commanded 
by  a  Colonel  Pyle,  marching  in  quest  of  Tarleton.  As 
Lee  with  his  cavalry  was  in  the  advance,  he  was  mis- 
taken for  Tarleton,  and  hailed  with  loyal  acclamations. 
He  favored  the  mistake  and  was  taking  measures  to 
capture  the  royaUsts,  when  some  of  them,  seeing  the 
infantry  under  Pickens,  discovered  their  error  and  fired 
upon  the  rear-guard.  The  cavalry  instantly  charged 
upon  them,  ninety  were  cut  down  and  slain  and  a 
great  number  wounded ;  among  the  latter  was  Colonel 
Pyle  himself,  who  took  refuge  among  thickets  on  the 
borders  of  a  piece  of  water  which  stOl  bears  his  name. 
The  Americans  alleged  m  excuse  for  the  slaughter 
that  it  was  provoked  by  their  being  attacked ;  and  that 
the  sabre  was  used,  as  a  continued  firing  might  alarm 
Tarleton 's  camp.     We  do  not  wonder,  however,  that 


262  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

British  writers  pronounced  it  a  massacre ;  though  it 
was  but  following  the  example  set  by  Tarleton  himself, 
in  this  ruthless  campaign. 

After  all,  Lee  and  Pickens  missed  the  object  of 
their  enterprise.  The  approach  of  night  and  the 
fatigue  of  their  troops,  made  them  defer  their  attack 
upon  Tarleton  until  morning.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
latter  had  received  an  express  from  Cornwallis,  inform- 
ing him  that  Greene  had  passed  the  Dan,  and  ordenng 
him  to  return  to  Hillsborough  as  soon  as  possible.  He 
hastened  to  obey.  Lee  with  his  legion  was  in  the  sad- 
dle before  daybreak ;  but  Tarleton's  troops  were  already 
on  the  march.  "The  legion,"  wntes  Lee,  "accus- 
tomed  to  night  expeditions,  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
using  pine-torch  for  flambeau.  Supplied  with  this, 
though  the  morning  was  dark,  the  enemy's  trail  was 
distinctly  discovered,  whenever  a  divergency  took  place 
in  his  route." 

Before  sunrise,  however,  Tarleton  had  forded  the 
Haw,  and  "  Light  Horse  Harry  "  gave  over  the  pur- 
suit, consoling  himself  that  though  he  had  not  effected 
the  chief  object  of  his  enterprise,  a  secondary  one  was 
completely  executed,  which  would  repress  the  toiy 
spirit  just  beginning  to  btu-st  forth.  "  Fortune,"  wntes 
he  in  his  magniloquent  way,  "  Fortune,  which  sways  so 
imperiously  the  affairs  of  war,  demonstrated  through- 
out the  operation  its  supreme  control.*  Nothing  was 
omitted  on  the  part  of  the  Americans,  to  give  to  the 
expedition  the  desired  termination ;  but  the  very  bright 
prospects  which  for  a  time  presented  themselves,  were 

•  Lee's  Memoirs  of  the  War,  i,  319. 


1781.]     GREENE  AT  TROUBLESOME  CREEK.      263 

suddenly  overcast; — the  capricious  goddess  gave  us 
Pyle  and  saved  Tarleton." 

The  re-appearance  of  Greene  and  his  army  in  North 
Carolina,  heralded  by  the  scourings  of  Lee  and  Pick- 
ens, disconcerted  the  schemes  of  Lord  ComwaUis. 
The  recruiting  service  was  interrupted.  Many  royal- 
ists who  were  on  the  way  to  his  camp  returned  home. 
Forage  and  provisions  became  scarce  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. He  found  himself,  he  said,  "amongst  timid 
friends  and  adjoining  to  inveterate  rebels.*'  On  the 
26th,  therefore,  he  abandoned  Hillsborough,  threw 
himself  across  the  Haw  and  encamped  near  Alamance 
Creek,  one  of  its  principal  tributaries,  in  a  country 
favorable  to  suppHes  and  with  a  tory  population.  His 
position  was  commanding,  at  the  point  of  concurrence 
of  roads  from  Salisbury,  Guilford,  High  Rockford, 
Cross  Creek,  and  Hillsborough.  It  covered  also  the 
communication  with  Wilmington,  where  a  depot  of 
military  stores,  so  important  to  his  half-destitute  army, 
had  recently  been  established. 

Greene,  with  his  main  army,  took  post  about  fifteen 
miles  above  him,  on  the  heights  between  Troublesome 
Creek  and  Reedy  Fork,  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the 
Haw.  His  plan  was  to  cut  the  enemy  off  from  the 
upper  counties ;  to  harass  him  by  skii-mishes,  but  to 
avoid  a  general  battle ;  thus  gaining  time  for  the  arrival 
of  reinforcements  daily  expected.  He  rarely  lay  more 
than  two  days  in  a  place,  and  kept  his  light  troops 
under  Pickens  and  Williams  between  him  and  the 
enemy;  hovering  about  the  latter,  intercepting  his 
intelligence ,  attacking  his  foraging  parties,  and  striking 
at  his  flanks   whenever  exposed.     Sharp   skirmishes 


264  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

occurred  between  them  and  Tarleton's  cavalry  with 
various  success.  The  country  being  much  of  a  wilder- 
ness obliged  both  parties  to  be  on  the  alert ,  but  the 
Americans,  accustomed  to  bush-fighting,  were  not 
easily  surprised. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  Comwallis,  learning  that 
the  light  troops  under  Williams  were  very  carelessly 
posted,  put  his  army  suddenly  in  motion  and  crossed 
the.  Alamance  in  a  thick  fog ,  with  the  design  to  beat 
up  their  quarters,  drive  them  in  upon  the  main  army, 
and  bring  Greene  to  action  should  he  come  to  their 
assistance.  His  movement  was  discovered  by  the 
American  patrols  and  the  alarm  given.  Williams 
hastily  called  in  his  detachments,  and  retreated  with 
his  light  troops  across  Reedy  Fork,  while  Lee  with  his 
legion  manoeuvred  in  front  of  the  enemy.  A  stand 
was  made  by  the  Americans  at  Wetzell's  Mill,  but 
they  were  obliged  to  retire  with  the  loss  of  fifty  killed 
and  wounded.  Comwallis  did  not  pursue;  evening 
was  approaching  and  he  had  failed  in  his  main  object ; 
that  of  bunging  Greene  to  action.  The  latter,  fixed 
in  his  resolve  of  avoiding  a  conflict,  had  retreated 
across  the  Haw,  in  order  to  keep  up  his  communication 
with  the  roads  by  which  he  expected  his  supplies  and 
reinforcements.  The  mihtia  of  the  country,  who  occa- 
sionally flocked  to  his  camp,  were  chiefly  volunteers, 
who  fell  off  after  every  skirmish,  "  going  home,"  as  he 
said,  "  to  tell  the  news."  "  At  this  time,"  said  he  on 
the  10th,  "  I  have  not  above  eight  or  nine  hundred  of 
them  in  the  field ;  yet  there  have  been  upwards  of 
five  thousand  in  motion  in  the  course  of  four  weeks. 
A  force  fluctuating  in  this  manner  can  promise  but 


1Y81.]  GEEENE    REINFORCED.  265 

slender  hopes  of  success  against  an  enemy  in  high  dis- 
cipline and  made  formidable  by  the  superiority  of  their 
numbers.  Hitherto,  I  have  been  obliged  to  effect  that 
by  finesse  which  I  dare  not  attempt  by  force."  * 

Greene  had  scarcely  written  this  letter,  when  the 
long  expected  reinforcements  arrived,  having  been  hur- 
ried on  by  forced  marches.  They  consisted  of  a  brig- 
ade of  Virginia  militia,  under  General  Lawson,  two 
brigades  of  North  Carolina  militia,  under  Generals 
Butler  and  Eaton,  and  four  hundred  regulars,  enlisted 
for  eighteen  months.  His  whole  effective  force,  accord- 
ing to  official  returns,  amounted  to  four  thousand  two 
hundred  and  forty-three  foot,  and  one  hundred  and 
sixty-one  cavalry.  Of  his  infantry,  not  qmte  two 
thousand  were  regulars,  and  of  these,  three-fourths 
were  new  levies.  His  force  nearly  doubled  in  num- 
ber that  of  Cornwallis,  which  did  not  exceed  two 
thousand  four  hundred  men ,  but  many  of  Greene's 
troops  were  raw  and  inexperienced,  and  had  never  been 
m  battle ;  those  of  the  enemy  were  veterans,  schooled 
in  warfare,  and,  as  it  were,  welded  together  by  cam- 
paigning in  a  foreign  land,  where  their  main  safety 
consisted  in  standing  by  each  other. 

Greene  knew  the  inferiority  of  his  troops  in  this 
respect ;  his  reinforcements,  too,  fell  far  short  of  what 
he.  had  been  led  to  expect,  yet  he  determined  to  accept 
the  battle  which  had  so  long  been  offered.  The  corps 
of  light  troops,  under  Williams,  which  had  rendered 
such  efficient  service,  was  now  incorporated  with  the 
main  body,  and  all  detachments  were  ordered  to  assem- 

*  Letter  to  Governor  Jefferson,  March  10. 


266  LIFE   OP  WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

ble  at  Guilford,  within  eight  miles  of  the  enemy,  where 
he  encamped  on  the  14th,  sending  his  waggons  and 
heavy  baggage  to  the  Iron  Works  at  Troublesome 
Creek,  ten  miles  in  his  rear. 

Cornwallis,  from  the  difficulty  of  getting  correct 
information,  and  from  Greene's  frequent  change  of 
position,  had  an  exaggerated  idea  of  the  American 
force,  rating  it  as  high  as  eight  thousand  men :  still  he 
trusted  in  his  well-seasoned  veterans  and  determined 
to  attack  Greene  in  his  encampment,  now  that  he 
seemed  disposed  for  a  general  action.  To  provide 
against  the  possibility  of  a  retreat,  he  sent  his  carriages 
and  baggage  to  Bell's  Mills,  on  Deep  River,  and  set 
out  at  daybreak  on  the  15th  for  Guilford. 

Within  four  miles  of  that  place,  near  the  New  Gar- 
den Meetmg-house,  Tarleton  with  the  advanced  guard 
of  cavalry,  infantry,  and  yagers,  came  upon  the  Ameri- 
can advance-guard,  composed  of  Lee's  partisan  legion, 
and  some  mountaineers  and  Virginia  militia.  Tarleton 
and  Lee  were  well-matched  in  military  prowess,  and 
the  skirmish  between  them  was  severe.  Lee's  horses, 
being  from  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  were  superior 
in  weight  and  strength  to  those  of  his  opponent,  which 
had  been  chiefly  taken  from  plantations  in  South  Caro- 
lina. The  latter  were  borne  down  by  a  charge  in  close 
column ;  several  of  their  riders  were  dismounted,  and 
killed  or  taken  prisoners.  Tarleton,  seeing  that  his 
weakly  mounted  men  fought  to  a  disadvantage,  sounded 
a  retreat ;  Lee  endeavored  to  cut  him  off:  a  general 
conflict  of  the  vanguards,  horse  and  foot  ensued,  when 
the  appearance  of  the  main  body  of  the  enemy,  obhged 
Lee,  in  his  turn,  to  retire  with  precipitation. 


1781.]        BATTLE    OF   GUILFORD    COUET   HOUSE.  267 

During  this  time  Greene  was  preparing  for  action 
on  a  woody  eminence,  a  little  more  than  a  mile  south 
of  Guilford  Court  House.  The  neighboring  country 
was  covered  with  forest,  excepting  some  cultivated  fields 
about  the  court  house,  and  along  the  Salisbury  road, 
which  passed  through  the  centre  of  the  place,  from 
south  to  north. 

Greene  had  drawn  out  his  troops  in  three  lines.  The 
first,  composed  of  North  Carolina  miHtia,  volunteers 
and  riflemen,  under  Generals  Butler  and  Eaton,  was 
posted  behind  a  fence,  with  an  open  field  in  front,  and 
woods  on  the  flanks  and  in  the  rear.  About  three 
hundred  yards  behind  this,  was  the  second  line,  composed 
of  Virginia  mihtia,  under  Generals  Stevens  and  Law- 
son,  drawn  up  across  the  road,  and  covered  by  a  wood. 
The  third  line,  about  four  hundred  yards  in  the  rear  of 
the  second,  was  composed  of  Continental  troops  or  regu- 
lars ;  those  of  Virginia  under  General  Huger  on  the  right, 
those  of  Maryland  under  Colonel  Williams  on  the  left. 
Colonel  Washington  with  a  body  of  dragoons,  Kirkwood's 
Delaware  infantry,  and  a  battalion  of  Virginia  militia 
covered  the  right  flank ,  Lee's  legion,  with  the  Virginia 
riflemen  under  Colonel  Campbell,  covered  the  left. 
Two  SIX  pounders  were  in  the  road,  in  advance  of  the 
first  line ,  two  field  pieces  with  the  rear  line  near  the 
court  house,  where  General  Greene  took  his  station. 

About  noon  the  head  of  the  British  army  was  des- 
cried advancing  spiritedly  from  the  south  along  the 
Salisbury  road,  and  defiling  into  the  fields.  A  cannon- 
ade was  opened  from  the  two  six  pounders  in  front  of 
the  first  American  line  It  was  answered  by  the  Bri- 
tish artillery.     Neither  produced  much  effect.    The 


268  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

enemy  now  advanced  coolly  and  steadily  in  three 
columns ;  the  Hessians  and  Highlanders  under  General 
Leslie,  on  the  right,  the  Royal  artillery  and  guards  in 
the  centre,  and  Webster's  brigade  on  the  left. 

The  North  Carolinians,  who  formed  the  first  line 
waited  until  the  enemy  were  within  one  hundred  ana 
fifty  yards,  when,  agitated  by  their  martial  array,  and 
undaunted  movement,  they  began  to  fall  into  confusion ; 
some  fired  off  their  pieces  without  taking  aim ;  others 
threw  them  down,  and  took  to  flight.  A  volley  from 
the  foe,  a.  shout,  and  a  charge  of  the  bayonet,  complet- 
ed their  discomfiture.  Some  fled  to  the  woods,  others 
fell  back  upon  the  Virginians,  who  formed  the  second 
line.  General  Stevens,  who  commanded  the  latter,  or- 
dered his  men  to  open  and  let  the  fugitives  pass,  pre- 
tending that  they  had  orders  to  retire.  He  had  taken 
care,  however,  to  post  forty  riflemen  in  the  rear  of  his 
own  line,  with  orders  to  fire  upon  any  one  who  should 
leave  his  post.  Under  his  spirited  command  and  ex- 
ample, the  Virginians  kept  their  ground  and  fought 
bravely. 

The  action  became  much  broken  up  and  diversified 
by  the  extent  of  the  ground.  The  thickness  of  the 
woods  impeded  the  movements  of  the  cavalry.  The 
reserves  on  both  sides  were  called  up.  The  British 
bayonet  again  succeeded;  the  second  line  gave  way, 
and  General  Stevens,  who  had  kept  the  field  for  some 
time,  after  being  wounded  in  the  thigh  by  a  musket- 
ball,  ordered  a  retreat. 

The  enemy  pressed  with  increasing  ardor  against 
the  third  line,  composed  of  Continental  troops,  and  sup- 
ported by  Colonel  Washington's  dragoons  and  Kirk- 


1781.]       BATTLE   OP    GUILFORD    COURT   HOUSE.  269 

wood's  Delawares.  Greene  counted  on  these  to  retrieve 
the  day.  They  were  regulars ,  they  were  fresh,  and  in 
perfect  order.  He  rode  along  the  line,  calling  on  them 
to  stand  firm,  and  give  the  enemy  a  warm  reception. 

The  first  Maryland  regiment  which  was  on  the  right 
wing,  was  attacked  by  Colonel  Webster,  with  the  Bri- 
tish left.  It  stood  the  shock  bravely,  and  being  se- 
conded by  some  Virginia  troops  and  Kirkwood's  Del- 
awares, drove  Webster  across  a  ravine.  The  second 
Maryland  regiment  was  not  so  successful.  Impetuous- 
ly attacked  by  Colonel  Stewart,  with  a  battalion  of  the 
guards,  and  a  company  of  grenadiers,  it  faltered,  gave 
way,  and  fled,  abandoning  two  field-pieces  which  were 
seized  by  the  enemy.  Stewart  was  pursuing,  when  the 
first  regiment  which  had  driven  Webster  across  the  ra- 
vine, came  to  the  rescue  with  fixed  bayonets,  while 
Colonel  Washington  spurred  up  with  his  cavalry.  The 
fight  now  was  fierce  and  bloody.  Stewart  was  slain ; 
the  two  field-pieces  were  retaken,  and  the  enemy  in 
their  turn  gave  way  and  were  pursued  with  slaughter ; 
a  destructive  fire  of  grape  shot  from  the  enemy's  artil- 
lery checked  the  pursuit.  Two  regiments  approached 
on  the  right  and  left,  Webster  recrossed  the  ravine 
and  fell  upon  Kirkwood's  Delawares.  There  was  in- 
trepid fighting  in  different  parts  of  the  field ;  but  Greene 
saw  that  the  day  was  lost ,  there  was  no  retrieving  the 
effect  produced  by  the  first  flight  of  the  North  Caroli- 
nians. UnwiDing  to  risk  the  utter  destruction  of  his 
army,  he  directed  a  retreat,  which  was  made  in  good 
order,  but  they  had  to  leave  their  artillery  on  the  field, 
most  of  the  horses  having  been  killed.  About  three 
miles  from  the  field  of  action  he  made  a  halt  to  collect 


270  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

stragglers,  and  then  continued  on  to  the  place  of  ren- 
dezvous at  Speedwell's  Iron  Works  on  Troublesome 
Creek. 

The  British  were  too  much  cut  up  and  fatigued  to 
follow  up  their  victory.  Two  regiments  with  Tarleton's 
cavalry  attempted  a  pursuit,  but  were  called  back.  Ef- 
forts were  made  to  collect  the  wounded  of  both  armies, 
but  they  were  dispersed  over  so  wide  a  space,  among 
woods  and  thickets,  that  night  closed  before  the  task 
was  accomplished.  It  was  a  dismal  night  even  to  the 
victors ;  a  night  of  unusual  darkness,  with  torrents  of 
rain.  The  army  was  destitute  of  tents ;  there  were  not 
sufficient  houses  in  the  vicinity  to  receive  the  wounded  j 
provisions  were  scanty;  many  had  tasted  very  httle 
food  for  the  last  two  days ,  comforts  were  out  of  the 
question.  Nearly  fifty  of  the  wounded  sank  under 
their  aggravated  miseries,  and  expired  before  morning. 
The  cries  of  the  disabled  and  dying,  who  remained  on 
the  field  of  battle  during  the  night,  exceeded  all  de- 
scription. Such  a  complicated  scene  of  horror  and  dis- 
tress, adds  the  British  writer,  whose  words  we  quote,  it 
is  hoped,  for  the  sake  of  humanity,  rarely  occurs,  even 
in  military  life.  * 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  this  hard-fought  affair, 
was  never  fully  ascertained.  Their  official  returns, 
made  immediately  after  the  action,  give  little  more  than 
four  hundred  killed  and  wounded,  and  between  eight 
and  nine  hundred  missing ;  but  Lord  Comwallis  states 
in  his  despatches,  that  between  two  and  three  hun- 
dred of  the  Americans  were  found  dead  on  the  field  of 
battle. 

*  Stedman,  vol.  ii.  p.  346. 


1781.]       BATTLE   OF   GUILFORD    COURT   HOUSE.  271 

The  loss  sustained  by  his  lordship,  even  if  numeri- 
cally less,  was  far  more  fatal ;  for,  in  the  circumstances 
in  which  he  was  placed,  it  was  not  to  be  supphed,  and 
it  completely  maimed  him.  Of  his  small  army,  ninety- 
three  had  fallen,  four  hundred  and  thirteen  were 
wounded,  and  twenty-six  missing.  Among  the  killed 
and  wounded  were  several  officers  of  note.  Thus,  one- 
fourth  of  his  army  was  either  killed  or  disabled ,  his 
troops  were  exhausted  by  fatigue  and  hunger,  his 
camp  was  encumbered  by  the  wounded.  *His  victory, 
in  fact,  was  almost  as  ruinous  as  a  defeat. 

Greene  lay  for  two  days  within  ten  miles  of  him, 
near  the  Iron  Works  on  Troublesome  Creek,  gathering 
up  his  scattered  troops.  He  had  imbibed  the  spirit  of 
Washington  and  remained  undismayed  by  hardships 
or  reverses.  Writing  to  the  latter,  he  says,  "Lord 
Comwalhs  will  not  give  up  this  country,  without  being 
soundly  beaten.  I  wish  our  force  was  more  competent 
to  the  business.  But  I  am  in  hopes,  by  little  and 
little,  to  reduce  him  in  time.  His  troops  are  good, 
well  foimd,  and  fight  with  great  obstinacy. 

"  Virginia,"  adds  he,  "  has  given  me  every  support 
I  could  wish  or  expect,  since  Lord  Cornwallis  has  been 
in  North  Carohna ;  and  nothing  has  contributed  more 
to  this,  than  the  prejudice  of  the  people  in  favor  of 
your  Excellency,  which  has  extended  to  me  from  the 
friendship  you  have  been  pleased  to  honor  me  with."  * 

And  again :  "  The  service  here  is  extremely  severe, 
and  the  ofl&cers  and  soldiers  bear  it  with  a  degree  of 
patience  that  does  them  the  highest  honor.    I  have 

*  Sparks.    Correspoadence  of  the  ReT<dation,  ill.  267. 


272  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

never  taken  off  my  clothes  since  I  left  the  Pedee.  I 
was  taken  with  a  fainting  last  night,  owing,  I  suppose, 
to  excessive  fatigue  and  constant  watching.  I  am  bet- 
ter to-day,  but  far  from  well. — I  have  little  prospect  of 
acquiring  much  reputation  while  I  labor  under  so  many 
disadvantages.  I  hope  my  friends  will  make  full 
allowances ,  and  as  for  vulgar  opinion,  I  regard  it  not." 

In  Washington  he  had  a  friend  whose  approbation 
was  dearer  to  him  than  the  applause  of  thousands,  and 
who  knew  how  to  appreciate  him.  To  Greene's  account 
of  the  battle  he  sent  a  cheering  reply.  "  Although  the 
honors  of  the  field  do  not  fall  to  your  lot,  I  am  con- 
vinced you  deserve  them.  The  chances  of  war  are 
various,  and  the  best  concerted  measures  and  most 
flattering  prospects,  may  and  often  do  deceive  us,  espe- 
cially while  we  are  in  the  power  of  the  mihtia.  The 
motives  which  induced  you  to  risk  an  action  with  Lord 
Cornwalhs  are  supported  upon  the  best  mihtary  princi- 
ple, and  the  consequence,  if  you  can  prevent  the  dissi- 
pation of  your  troops,  will  no  doubt  be  fortunate." 

The  consequence,  it  will  be  found,  was  such  as 
Washington,  with  his  usual  sagacity,  predicted.  Gom- 
wallis,  so  far  from  being  able  to  advance  in  the  careei 
of  victory,  could  not  even  hold  the  ground  he  had  so 
bravely  won,  but  was  obliged  to  retreat  from  the  scene 
of  triumph,  to  some  secure  position  where  he  might 
obtain  supphes  for  his  famished  army. 

Leaving,  therefore,  about  seventy  of  his  ofl&cers  and 
men,  who  were  too  severely  wounded  to  bear  travelling, 
together  v/ith  a  number  of  wounded  Americans,  in  the 
New  Garden  Meeting  House,  and  the  adjacent  build- 
ings, under  the  protection  of  a  flag  of  truce,  and  plac- 


1781.]  GREENE   PURSUES    CORNWALLIS.  273 

ing  tlie  rest  of  his  wounded  in  waggons  or  on  horse- 
back, he  set  out,  on  the  third  day  after  the  action,  by 
easy  marches,  for  Cross  Creek,  otherwise  called  the 
Haw,  an  eastern  branch  of  Cape  Fear  River,  where 
was  a  settlement  of  Scottish  Highlanders,  stout  adher- 
ents, as  he  was  led  to  believe,  to  the  royal  cause.  Here 
he  expected  to  be  plentifully  supplied  with  provisions 
and  to  have  his  sick  and  wounded  well  taken  care  of. 
Hence,  too,  he  could  open  a  communication  by  Cape 
Fear  River,  with  Wilmington,  and  obtain  from  the 
depot  recently  established  there,  such  supphes  as  the 
country  about  Cross  Creek  did  not  afford. 

On  the  day  on  which  he  began  his  march,  he  issued 
a  proclamation,  setting  forth  his  victory,  calling  upon 
all  loyal  subjects  to  join  his  standard,  and  holding  out 
the  usual  promises  and  threats  to  such  as  should  obey 
or  should  continue  in  rebellion. 

No  sooner  did  Greene  learn  that  Comwallis  was 
retreating,  than  he  set  out  to  follow  him,  determined 
to  bnng  him  again  to  action ,  and  presenting  tlie  sin- 
gular spectacle  of  the  vanquished  pursuing  the  victor. 
His  troops,  however,  suffered  greatly  in  this  pursuit, 
from  wintry  weather,  deep,  wet,  clayey  roads,  and 
scarcity  of  provisions ;  the  country  through  which  they 
marched  being  completely  exhausted ;  but  they  ha- 
rassed the  enemy's  rear-guard  with  frequent  skirmishes. 

On  the  28th,  Greene  arrived  at  Ramsay's  IMills,  on 
Deep  River,  hard  on  the  traces  of  Comwallis,  who  had 
left  the  place  a  few  hours  previously,  with  such  precipi- 
tation, that  several  of  his  wounded,  who  had  died 
while  on  the  march,  were  left  behind  imburied.  Sev- 
eral fresh  quarters  of  beef  had  Hkewise  been  forgotten, 

VOL.  IV- — 18 


274  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

and  were  seized  upon  with  eagerness  by  the  hungry 
soldiery.  Such  had  been  the  urgency  of  the  pursuit 
this  day,  that  many  of  the  American  troops  sank  upon 
the  road  exhausted  with  fatigue. 

At  Deep  River,  Greene  was  brought  to  a  stand. 
Cornwalhs  had  broken  down  the  bridge  by  which  he 
had  crossed ;  and  further  pursuit  for  the  present  was 
impossible.  The  constancy  of  the  militia  now  gave 
way.  They  had  been  continually  on  the  march  with 
httle  to  eat,  less  to  drink,  and  obliged  to  sleep  in  the 
woods  in  the  midst  of  smoke.  Every  step  had  led 
them  from  their  homes  and  increased  their  privations. 
They  were  now  in  want  of  every  thing,  for  the 
retreating  enemy  left  a  famished  country  behind  him. 
The  term  for  which  most  of  them  had  enhsted 
was  expired,  and  they  now  demanded  their  discharge. 
The  demand  was  just  and  reasonable,  and,  after 
striving  in  vain  to  shake  their  determination,  Greene 
felt  compelled  to  comply  with  it.  His  force  thus 
reduced,  it  would  be  impossible  to  pursue  the  enemy 
further.  The  halt  he  was  obliged  to  make  to  collect 
provisions  and  rebuild  the  bndge,  would  give  them 
such  a  start  as  to  leave  no  hope  of  overtaking  them 
should  they  continue  their  retreat ;  nor  could  he  fight 
them  upon  equal  terms  should  they  make  a  stand. 
The  regular  troops  would  be  late  in  the  field,  if  raised 
at  all :  Virginia,  from  the  unequal  operation  of  the  law 
for  drafting,  was  not  likely  to  furnish  many  soldiers : 
Maryland,  as  late  as  the  13th  instant,  had  not  got  a 
man ;  neither  was  there  the  least  prospect  of  raising  a 
man  in  North  Carohna.  In  this  situation,  remote  from 
reinforcements,  inferior  to  the  enemy  in  numbers,  and 


1781.]  GREENE    CHANGES    HIS   PLAN.  275 

without  hope  of  support,  what  was  to  be  done  ?  "  If 
the  enemy  falls  down  toward  Wilmington,"  said  he, 
"  they  will  be  in  a  position  where  it  would  be  impos- 
sible for  us  to  injure  them  if  we  had  a  force."*  Sud- 
denly he  determined  to  change  his  course  and  caiTy 
the  war  into  South  Carolina.  This  would  oblige  the 
enemy  either  to  follow  him,  and  thus  abandon  North 
Carolina ;  or  to  sacrifice  all  his  posts  in  the  upper  part 
of  North  Carolina  and  Georgia.  To  Washington,  to 
whom  he  considered  himself  accountable  for  all  his 
policy,  and  from  whose  counsel  he  derived  confidence 
and  strength,  he  writes  on  the  present  occasion.  "  All 
things  considered,  I  think  the  movement  is  warranted 
by  the  soundest  reasons,  both  political  and  military. 
The  manoeuvre  will  be  critical  and  dangerous,  and  the 
troops  exposed  to  every  hardship.  Bat  as  I  share  it 
with  them,  I  may  hope  they  will  bear  up  under  it  with 
that  magnanimity  which  has  always  supported  them, 
and  for  which  they  deserve  every  thing  of  their  coun- 
try."— ■'  I  shall  take  every  measure,"  adds  he,  " to 
avoid  a  misfortune.  But  necessity  obliges  me  to  com- 
mit myself  to  chance,  and,  I  trust,  my  friends  will  do 
justice  to  my  reputation,  if  any  accident  attends  me." 

In  this  brave  spirit  he  apprised  Sumter,  Pickens, 
and  Marion,  by  letter,  of  his  intentions,  and  called 
upon  them  to  be  ready  to  co-operate  with  all  the  militia 
they  could  collect  ;  promising  to  send  forward  cavalry 
and  small  detachments  of  light  infantry,  to  aid  them  in 
capturing  outposts  before  the  army  should  arrive. 

To  Lafayette  he  writes  at  the  same  time.     "  I  ex- 

*  Greene  to  Washington.    Cor.. Rev.  iii.  278. 


276  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

pect  by  this  movement  to  draw  Cornwallis  out  of  this 
State,  and  prevent  him  from  forming  a  junction  with 
Arnold.  If  you  follow  to  support  me,  it  is  not  impos- 
sible that  we  may  give  him  a  drubbing,  especially  if 
General  Wayne  comes  up  with  the  Pennsylvamans." 

In  pursuance  of  his  plan,  Greene,  on  the  30th  of 
March,  discharged  all  his  militia  with  many  thanks  for 
the  courage  and  fortitude  with  which  they  had  followed 
him  through  so  many  scenes  of  peril  and  hardship ; 
and  joyously  did  the  poor  fellows  set  out  for  their  homes. 
Then,  after  giving  his  "  little,  distressed,  though  suc- 
cessful army,"  a  sliort  taste  of  the  repose  they  needed, 
and  having  collected  a  few  days'  provision,  he  set  for- 
ward on  the  5th  of  April  toward  Camden,  where  Lord 
Raw  don  had  his  head-quarters. 

Cornwallis,  m  the  mean  time,  was  grievously  dis- 
appointed in  the  hopes  he  had  formed  of  obtaining 
ample  provisions  and  forage  at  Cross  Creek,  and  strong 
reinforcements  from  the  royalists  in  that  neighborhood. 
Neither  could  he  open  a  communication  by  Cape  Tear 
River,  for  the  conveyance  of  his  troops  to  Wilmington. 
The  distance  by  water  was  upwards  of  a  hundred 
miles,  the  breadth  of  the  river  seldom  above  one  hun- 
dred yards,  the  banks  high,  and  the  inhabitants  on  each 
side  generally  hostile.  He  was  compelled,  therefore, 
to  continue  his  retreat  by  land,  quite  to  Wilmington, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  7th  of  April,  and  his  troops, 
weary,  sick  and  wounded,  rested  for  the  present  from 
the  "  unceasing  toils  and  unspeakable  hardships,  which 
they  had  undergone  during  the  past  three  months."  * 

*  See  Letter  of  Cornwallis  to  Lord  G.  Germain,  April  18.     Also  Ann. 
Register,  1781,  p.  72. 


1781.]  CORNWALLIS    PERPLEXED.  277 

It  was  his  lordsliip's  intention,  as  soon  as  he  sliould 
have  equipped  his  own  corps  and  received  a  part  of  the 
expected  reinforcement  from  Ireland,  to  return  to  the 
upper  country,  in  hopes  of  givmg  protection  to  the 
royal  interests  in  South  Carolina,  and  of  preservmg  the 
health  of  his  troops  until  he  should  concert  new  mea- 
sures with  Sir  Henry  Clinton.*  His  plans  were  all 
disconcerted,  however,  by  mtelligence  of  Greene's  rapid 
march  toward  Camden.  Never,  we  are  told,  was  his 
lordship  more  affected  than  by  this  news.  '*  My  situa- 
tion here  is  very  distressing,"  writes  he.  "  Greene  took 
the  advantage  of  my  being  obliged  to  come  to  this 
place,  and  has  inarched  to  South  Carolina.  My  ex- 
presses to  Lord  Rawdon  on  my  leaving  Cross  Creek, 
warning  him  of  the  possibility  of  such  a  movement, 
have  all  failed ,  mountaineers  and  militia  have  poured 
into  the  back  part  of  that  province,  and  I  much  fear 
that  Lord  Rawdon's  posts  will  be  so  distant  from  each 
other,  and  his  troops  so  scattered,  as  to  put  Inm  into 
the  greatest  danger  of  being  beaten  in  detail,  and  that 
the  worst  of  consequences  may  happen  to  most  of  the 
troops  out  of  Charleston."  f 

It  was  too  late  for  his  lordship  to  render  any  aid  by 
a  direct  move  towards  Camden.  Before  he  could  arrive 
there,  Greene  would  have  made  an  attack ;  if  success- 
ful, his  lordship's  army  might  be  hemmed  in  among 
the  great  rivers,  in  an  exhausted  country,  revolutionary 
in  its  spirit,  where  Greene  might  cut  off  their  subsist- 
ence and  render  their  arms  useless. 

All  thoughts  of  offensive  operations  against  North 

*  Answer  to  Clinton's  Narrative,  Introduction,  p.  vi. 
\  Letter  to  Major-General  Phillips. 


278  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

Carolina  were  at  an  end.  Sickness,  desertion,  and  the 
loss  sustained  at  Guilford  Court-house,  had  reduced 
his  little  army  to  fourteen  hundred  and  thirty-five  men. 

In  this  sad  predicament,  after  remaining  several 
days  in  a  painful  state  of  irresolution,  he  determined 
to  take  advantage  of  Greene's  having  left  the  back  part 
of  Virginia  open,  to  march  directly  into  that  province, 
and  attempt  a  junction  with  the  force  acting  there 
under  General  Phillips. 

By  this  move,  he  might  draw  Greene  hack  to  the 
northward,  and  by  the  reduction  of  Virginia,  he  might 
promote  the  subjugation  of  the  South.  The  move, 
however,  he  felt  to  be  perilous.  His  troops  were  worn 
down  by  upwards  of  eight  hundred  miles  of  marching 
and  counter-marching  through  an  inhospitable  and  im- 
practicable country  ,  they  had  now  three  hundred  more 
before  them ,  under  still  worse  circumstances  than 
those  in  which  they  first  set  out ;  for,  so  destitute  were 
they,  notwithstanding  the  supphes  received  at  Wilming- 
ton, that  his  lordship,  sadly  humorous,  declared,  "  his 
cavalry  wanted  every  thing,  and  his  infantry,  every 
thing  but  shoes."  * 

There  was  no  time  for  hesitation  or  delay ;  Greene 
might  return  and  render  the  junction  with  Phillips 
impracticable:  having  sent  an  express  to  the  latter, 
therefore,  informing  him  of  his  coming,  and  appointing 
a  meeting  at  Petersburg,  his  lordship  set  off  on  the 
25th  of  April,  on  his  fated  march  into  Virginia. 

We  must  now  step  back  in  dates  to  bring  up  events 
m  the  more  northern  parts  of  the  Union. 

»  Annual  Register,  1781,  p.  90. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

ABNOLD  AT  PORTSMOUTH  IN  VIEOmiA — EXPEDITIONS  SENT  AGAINST  HIM — 
INSTRUCTIONS  TO  LAFAYETTE — WASHINGTON  AT  NEWPORT — CONSUL- 
TATIONS WITH  DE  EOCHAMBEAU — SAILING  OF  THE  FRENCH  FLEET — PUR- 
SUED BT  THE  ENGLISH — EXPEDITION  OF  LAFATETTB  TO  VIRGINIA — 
ENGAGEMENT  BETWEEN  THE  ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH  FLEETS — FAILURE 
OF  THE  EXPEDITION  AGAINST  ARNOLD — LETTER  OF  WASHINGTON  TO 
COLONEL  LAURENS — MEASURES  TO  REINFORCE  GREENE — GENERAL 
PHILLIPS  IN  COMMAND  AT  PORTSMOUTH — MARAUDS  THE  COUNTRY — 
CHECKED  BT  LAFAYETTE — MOUNT  VERNON  MENACED — DEATH  OP 
PHILLIPS. 

In  a  former  chapter  we  left  Benedict  Arnold  fortifying 
himself  at  Portsmouth,  after  his  ravagmg  incursion. 
At  the  solicitation  of  Governor  Jefferson,  backed 
by  Congress,  the  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne  had  requested 
the  French  commander  at  the  eastward  to  send 
a  ship  of  the  hue  and  some  frigates  to  Chesapeake 
Bay  to  oppose  the  traitor.  Fortunately  at  this  junc- 
ture a  severe  snow  storm  (Jan.  2 2d)  scattered  Arbuth- 
not's  blockading  squadron,  wrecking  one  ship  of  the  Hne 
and  dismasting  others,  and  enabled  the  French  fleet  at 
Newport  to  look  abroad ;  and  Rochambeau  wrote  to 
Washington  that  the  Chevalier  Destouches,  who  com- 
manded the  fleet,  proposed  to  send  three  or  four  ships 
to  the  Chesapeake. 


280  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

Washington  feared  the  position  of  Arnold,  and  his 
well-known  address  might  enable  him  to  withstand  a 
mere  attack  by  sea ;  anxious  to  ensure  his  capture,  he 
advised  that  Destouches  should  send  his  whole  fleet ; 
and  that  De  Rochambeau  should  embark  about  a 
thousand  men  on  board  of  it,  with  artillery  and  appa- 
ratus for  a  siege ;  engaging,  on  his  own  part,  to  send  off 
immediately  a  detachment  of  twelve  hundred  men  to 
co-operate.  "  The  destruction  of  the  corps  under  the 
command  of  Arnold,"  writes  he,  "  is  of  such  immense 
importance  to  the  welfare  of  the  Southern  States,  that  I 
have  resolved  to  attempt  it  with  the  detachment  I  now 
send  m  conjunction  with  the  militia,  even  if  it  should 
not  be  convenient  for  your  Excellency  to  detach  a  part 
of  your  force  ,  provided  M.  Destouches  is  able  to  pro- 
tect our  operations  by  such  a  disposition  of  his  fleet  as 
will  give  us  the  command  of  the  bay,  and  prevent  suc- 
cors from  being  sent  from  New  York." 

Before  the  receipt  of  this  letter,  the  Trench  com- 
manders, acting  on  their  first  impulse,  had,  about  the 
9th  of  February,  detached  M.  de  Tilly  with  a  sixty  gun 
ship  and  two  frigates  to  make  a  dash  into  the  Chesa- 
peake. "Washington  was  apprised  of  their  sailing  just 
as  he  was  preparing  to  send  off  the  twelve  hundred  men 
spoken  of  m  his  letter  to  De  Rochambeau.  He  gave 
the  command  of  this  detachment  to  Lafayette,  instructing 
him  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  militia  and  the  ships 
sent  by  Destouches,  against  the  enemy's  corps  actually  m 
Virginia.  As  the  case  was  urgent,  he  was  to  suffer  no 
delay,  when  on  the  march,  for  want  either  of  provisions, 
forage,  or  waggons,  but  where  ordinary  means  did 
not   suflEice,  he  was   to  resort    to  miUtary  impress. 


1781.]      EFFORTS  TO  CAPTURE  ARNOLD.       281 

"You  are  to  do  no  act  whatever  with  Arnold," 
said  the  letter  of  instruction,  "  that  directly  or  by  im- 
phcation  may  screen  him  from  the  punishment  due  to 
his  treason  and  desertion,  which,  if  he  should  fall  into 
your  hands,  you  will  execute  in  the  most  summary 
manner." 

Washington  wrote  at  the  same  time  to  the  Baron 
Steuben,  informing  him  of  the  arrangements,  and 
requesting  him  to  be  on  the  alert.  "  If  the  fleet 
should  have  arrived  before  this  gets  to  hand,"  said  he, 
"  secrecy  will  be  out  of  the  question ;  if  not,  you  will 
conceal  your  expectations  and  only  seem  to  be  prepar- 
ing for  defence.  Arnold,  on  the  appearance  of  the  fleet, 
may  endeavor  to  retreat  through  North  Carohna.  If 
you  take  any  measure  to  obviate  this,  the  precaution 
will  be  advisable.  Should  you  be  able  to  capture  this 
detachment  with  its  chief,  it  will  be  an  event  as  pleasing 
as  it  will  be  useful." 

Lafayette  set  out  on  his  march  on  the  22d  of  Feb- 
ruary, and  Washington  was  indulging  the  hope  that, 
scanty  as  was  the  naval  force  sent  to  the  Chesapeake, 
the  combined  enterprise  might  be  successful,  when,  on 
the  27th,  he  received  a  letter  from  the  Count  de  Ro- 
chambeau  announcing  its  failure.  De  Tilly  had  made 
his  dash  into  Chesapeake  Bay,  but  Arnold  had  been 
apprised  by  the  British  Admiral  Arbuthnot  of  his  ap- 
proach, and  had  drawn  his  ships  high  up  Elizabeth 
River  The  water  was  too  shallow  for  the  largest 
French  ship  to  get  within  four  leagues  of  him.  One  of 
De  Tilly's  frigates  ran  aground,  and  was  got  off  with 
difficulty,  and  that  commander,  seeing  that  Arnold  was 
out  of  his  reach,  and  feanng  to  be  himself  blockaded 


282  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

should  he  linger,  put  to  sea  and  returned  to  Newport ; 
having  captured  during  his  cruise  a  British  frigate  of 
forty-four  guns,  and  two  privateers  with  their  prizes. 

The  French  commanders  now  determined  to  foUow 
the  plan  suggested  by  Washington,  and  operate  in  the 
Chesapeake  with  their  whole  fleet  and  a  detachment  of 
land  troops,  bemg,  as  they  said,  disposed  to  risk  every 
thmg  to  hinder  Arnold  from  establishing  himself  at 
Portsmouth. 

AVashington  set  out  for  Newport  to  concert  opera- 
tions with  the  French  commanders.  Before  his  de- 
parture, he  wrote  to  Lafayette,  on  the  1st  of  March, 
giving  him  intelligence  of  these  intentions,  and  desiring 
him  to  transmit  it  to  the  Baron  Steuben.  "  I  have  re- 
ceived a  letter,"  adds  he,  "  from  General  Greene,  by 
which  it  appears  that  Cornwallis,  with  twenty-five  hun- 
dred men,  was  penetrating  the  country  with  very  great 
rapidity,  and  Greene  with  a  much  inferior  force  retir- 
ing before  him,  having  determined  to  pass  the  Roanoke. 
This  intelligence,  and  an  apprehension  that  Arnold  may 
make  his  escape  before  the  fleet  can  arrive  in  the  bay, 
induces  me  to  give  you  greater  latitude  than  you  had 
in  your  original  instructions.  You  are  at  liberty  to  con- 
cert a  plan  with  the  French  general  and  naval  com- 
mander for  a  descent  into  North  Carolina,  to  cut  off  the 
detachment  of  the  enemy  which  had  ascended  Cape 
Fear  River,  intercept,  if  possible,  CornwalUs,  andreheve 
General  Greene  and  the  Southern  States.  This,  how- 
ever, ought  to  be  a  secondary  object,  attempted  in  case 
of  Arnold's  retreat  to  New  York ;  or  in  case  his  reduc- 
tion should  be  attended  with  too  much  delay.    There 


1781.]  SAILING  OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET.  283 

should  be  strong  reasons  to  induce  a  change  of  our  first 
plan  against  Arnold  if  he  is  still  in  Virginia. 

Washington  arrived  at  Newport  on  the  6th  of  March, 
and  found  the  French  fleet  ready  for  sea,  the  troops 
eleven  hundred  strong,  commanded  by  General  the 
Baron  de  Viomenil,  being  already  embarked. 

Washington  went  immediately  on  board  of  the  ad- 
miral's ship,  where  he  had  an  interview  with  the  Count 
de  Rochambeau,  and  arranged  the  plan  of  the  campaign. 
Returning  on  shore  he  was  received  by  the  inhabitants 
with  enthusiastic  demonstrations  of  affection ;  and  was 
gratified  to  perceive  the  harmony  and  good  will  between 
them  and  the  French  army  and  fleet.  Much  of  this  he 
attributed  to  the  wisdom  of  the  commanders,  and  the 
discipline  of  the  troops,  but  more  to  magnanimity  on 
the  one  part,  and  gratitude  on  the  other ;  and  he  hailed 
it  as  a  happy  presage  of  lasting  friendship  between  the 
two  nations. 

On  the  8th  of  March,  at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  he 
writes  to  Lafayette :  "  I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you 
that  the  whole  fleet  went  out  with  a  fair  wind  this  even- 
ing about  sunset.  We  have  not  heard  of  any  move  of 
the  British  in  Gardiner's  Bay.  Should  we  luckily  meet 
with  no  interruption  from  them,  and  Arnold  should  con- 
tinue in  Virginia  until  the  arrival  of  M.  Destouches,  I 
flatter  myself  you  will  meet  with  that  success  which  I 
most  ardently  wish,  not  only  on  the  public,  but  your 
own  account." 

The  Bntish  fleet  made  sail  in  pursuit,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  10th;  as  the  French  had  so  much  the  start, 
it  was  hoped  they  would  reach  Chesapeake  Bay  before 
them.     Washington  felt  the  present  to  be  a  most  im- 


284  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

portant  moment.  "  The  success  of  the  expedition  now 
in  agitation,"  said  he,  "  seems  to  depend  upon  a  naval 
superiority,  and  the  force  of  the  two  fleets  is  so  equal, 
that  we  must  rather  hope  for,  than  entertain  an  assur- 
ance of  victory.  The  attempt,  however,  made  by  ou. 
allies  to  dislodge  the  enemy  in  Virginia,  is  a  bold  one, 
and  should  it  fail,  will  nevertheless  entitle  them  to  the 
thanks  of  the  public." 

On  returning  to  his  head-quarters  at  New  Windsor, 
Washington  on  the  20th  of  March  found  letters  from 
General  Greene,  informing  him  that  he  had  saved  all 
his  baggage,  artillery,  and  stores,  notwithstanding  the 
hot  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  and  was  now  in  his  turn  fol- 
lowing them,  but  that  he  was  greatly  in  need  of  rein- 
forcements. 

"  My  regard  for  the  public  good,  and  my  inclination 
to  promote  your  success,"  writes  Washington  m  reply, 
"  will  prompt  me  to  give  every  assistance,  and  to  make 
every  diversion  in  your  favor  But  what  can  I  do  if  I 
am  not  furnished  with  the  means  ?  From  what  I  saw 
and  learned  while  at  the  eastward,  I  am  convinced  the 
levies  will  be  late  in  the  field,  and  I  fear  far  short  of  the 
requisition.  I  most  anxiously  wait  the  event  of  the 
present  operation  in  Virginia.  If  attended  with  suc- 
cess, it  may  have  the  happiest  influence  on  our  southern  ^ 
affairs,  by  leaving  the  forces  of  Virginia  free  to  act.  For 
while  there  is  an  enemy  in  the  heart  of  a  country,  you 
can  expect  neither  men  nor  supplies  from  it,  in  that  full 
and  regular  manner  m  which  they  ought  to  be  given." 

In  the  mean  time,  Lafayette  mth  his  detachment 
was  pressing  forward  by  forced  marches  for  Virginia. 
Anivmg  at  the  Head  of  Elk  on  the  3d  of  March,  he 


1T81.]  LAFAYETTE   IN    VIRGINIA.  285 

halted  until  he  should  receive  tidings  respecting  the 
Prench  fleet.  A  letter  from  the  Baron  Steuben  spoke 
of  the  preparations  he  was  making,  and  the  facil- 
ity of  taking  the  fortifications  of  Portsmouth,  "  sword 
in  hand."  The  youthful  marquis  was  not  so  sanguine 
as  the  veteran  baron.  "Arnold,"  said  he,  "has  had  so 
much  time  to  prepare,  and  plays  so  deep  a  game,  nature 
has  made  the  position  so  respectable,  and  some  of  the 
troops  under  his  orders  have  been  in  so  many  actions, 
that  I  do  not  flatter  myself  to  succeed  so  easily."  On 
the  7th  he  received  Washington's  letter  of  the  1st,  ap- 
prising him  of  the  approaching  departure  of  the  whole 
fleet  with  land  forces.  Lafayette  now  conducted  his 
troops  by  water  to  Annapolis,  and  concluding,  from  the 
time  the  ships  were  to  sail,  and  the  winds  which  liad 
since  prevailed,  the  French  fleet  must  be  already  in  the 
Chesapeake,  he  crossed  the  bay  in  an  open  boat  to 
Virginia,  and  pushed  on  to  confer  with  the  American 
and  French  commanders ,  get  a  convoy  for  his  troops, 
and  concert  matters  for  a  vigorous  co-operation.  Ar- 
riving at  York  on  the  14th,  he  found  the  Baron  Steuben 
in  the  bustle  of  military  preparations,  and  confident 
of  having  five  thousand  militia  ready  to  operate.  These, 
with  Lafayette's  detachment,  would  be  sufficient  for  the 
attack  by  land ;  nothing  was  wanting  but  a  co-opera- 
tion by  sea ;  and  the  French  fleet  had  not  yet  appeared, 
though  double  the  time  necessary  for  the  voyage  had 
elapsed.  The  marquis  repaired  to  General  Muhlenberg's 
camp  near  Suffolk,  and  reconnoitred  with  him  the  ene- 
my's works  at  Portsmouth ;  this  brought  on  a  trifling 
shirmish,  but  every  thing  appeared  satisfactory ;  every 
thing  promised  complete  success. 


286  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

On  the  20th,  word  was  brought  that  a  fleet  had 
come  to  anchor  within  the  capes.  It  was  supposed  of 
course  to  be  the  French,  and  now  the  capture  of  the 
traitor  was  certain.  He  himself  from  certain  signs  ap- 
peared to  be  m  great  confusion,  none  of  his  ships  ven- 
tured down  the  bay.  An  officer  of  the  French  navy 
bore  down  to  visit  the  fleet,  but  returned  with  the  as- 
tounding intelligence  that  it  was  British ! 

Admiral  Arbuthnot  had  in  fact  overtaken  Destouches 
on  the  16  th  of  March,  off  the  capes  of  Virginia.  Their 
forces  were  nearly  equal ;  eight  ships  of  the  line,  and 
four  frigates  on  each  side,  the  French  having  more  men, 
the  English  more  guns.  An  engagement  took  place 
which  lasted  about  an  hour.  The  British  van  at  first 
took  the  brunt  of  the  action,  and  was  severely  handled ; 
the  centre  came  up  to  its  rehef.  The  French  line  was 
broken  and  gave  way,  but  rallied,  and  formed  again  at 
some  distance.  The  crippled  state  of  some  of  his  ships 
prevented  the  British  admiral  from  bringing  on  a  second 
encounter ;  nor  did  the  French  seek  one,  but  shaped 
their  course  the  next  day  back  to  Newport.  Both 
sides  claimed  a  victory.  The  British  certainly  effected 
the  main  objects  they  had  in  view ;  the  French  were 
cut  off  from  the  Chesapeake ;  the  combined  enterprise 
against  Portsmouth  was  disconcerted,  and  Arnold  was 
saved.  Great  must  have  been  the  apprehensions  of  the 
traitor,  while  that  enterprise  threatened  to  entrap  him. 
He  knew  the  peculiar  peril  impending  over  him ;  it  had 
been  announced  in  the  sturdy  reply  of  an  American 
prisoner,  to  his  inquiry  what  his  countrymen  would  do 
to  him  if  he  were  captured. — '*  They  would  cut  off  the 
leg  wounded  in  the  service  of  your  country  and  bury  it 


1781.]  AID    FROM    FRANCE   REQUIRED.  287 

vdth  the  honors  of  war ;  the  rest  of  you  they  would 
hang ! " 

The  feelings  of  Washington,  on  hearing  of  the  result 
of  the  enterprise,  may  be  judged  from  the  following 
passage  of  a  letter  to  Colonel  John  Laurens,  then  min- 
ister at  Pans.  "  The  failure  of  this  expedition,  which 
was  most  flattering  in  the  commencement,  is  much  to 
be  regretted ;  because  a  successful  blow  in  that  quarter 
would,  in  all  probability,  have  given  a  decisive  turn  to 
pur  affairs  in  all  the  Southern  States ,  because  it  has 
been  attended  with  considerable  expense  on  our  part, 
and  much  inconvenience  to  the  State  of  Virginia,  by 
the  assembling  of  our  militia ;  because  the  world  is  dis- 
appointed at  not  seeing  Arnold  in  gibbets ,  and  above 
all,  because  we  stood  in  need  of  something  to  keep  us 
afloat  till  the  result  of  your  mission  is  known ,  for  be 
assured,  my  dear  Laurens,  day  does  not  follow  night 
more  certainly,  than  it  brings  with  it  some  additional 
proof  of  the  impracticability  of  carrying  on  the  war, 
without  the  aids  you  were  directed  to  solicit.  As  an 
honest  and  candid  man,  as  a  man  whose  all  depends  on 
the  final  and  happy  termination  of  the  present  contest, 
I  assert  this,  while  I  give  it  decisively  as  my  opinion, 
that,  without  a  foreign  loan,  our  present  force,  which  is 
but  the  remnant  of  an  army,  cannot  be  kept  together 
this  campaign,  much  less  will  it  be  increased,  and  in 
readiness  for  another.  ******  j£ 
France  delays  a  timely  and  powerful  aid  in  the  critical 
postm-e  of  our  affairs,  it  will  avail  us  nothing  should 
she  attempt  it  hereafter.  We  are  at  this  hour  sus- 
pended m  the  balance ;  not  from  choice,  but  from  hard 
and  absolute  necessity ;  and  you  may  rely  on  it  as  a 


288  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

fact,  that  we  cannot  transport  the  provisions  from  the 
States  in  which  they  are  assessed,  to  the  army,  because 
we  cannot  pay  the  teamsters,  who  will  no  longer  work 
for  certificates.  *  *  *  In  a  word  we  are  at  the 
end  of  our  tether,  and  now  or  never  our  deliverance 
must  come.  *  *  *  How  easy  would  it  be  to  re- 
tort the  enemy's  own  game  upon  them ;  if  it  could  be 
made  to  comport  with  the  general  plan  of  the  war,  to 
keep  a  superior  fleet  always  m  these  seas,  and  Trance 
would  put  us  in  condition  to  be  active,  by  advancing  us 
money  The  ruin  of  the  enemy's  schemes  would  then 
be  certain ;  the  bold  game  they  are  now  playing  would 
be  the  means  of  effecting  it ;  for  they  would  be  reduced 
to  the  necessity  of  concentrating  their  force  at  capital 
points ;  thereby  giving  up  all  the  advantages  they  have 
gained  in  the  Southern  States,  or  be  vulnerable  every 
where." 

Washington's  anxiety  was  now  awakened  for  the 
safety  of  General  Greene,  Two  thousand  troops  had 
sailed  from  New  York  under  General  Phillips,  probably 
to  join  with  the  force  under  Arnold,  and  proceed  to  re- 
inforce CornwaUis.  Should  they  form  a  junction,  Greene 
would  be  unable  to  withstand  them.  With  these  con- 
siderations Washington  wrote  to  Lafayette,  urging  him, 
since  he  was  already  three  hundred  miles,  which  was 
half  the  distance,  on  the  way,  to  push  on  with  all  possi- 
ble speed  to  join  the  southern  army,  sending  expresses 
ahead  to  inform  Greene  of  his  approach. 

The  letter  found  Lafayette  on  the  8th  of  April  at 
the  Head  of  Elk,  preparing  to  march  back  with  his 
troops,  to  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  On  his  return 
through  Virginia,  he  had  gone  out  of  his  way,  and  trav- 


1781.]   APPEAL   OF    LAFAYETTE   TO   THE   SOLDIERY.    289 

elled  all  night  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  Washington's 
mother  at  Fredericksburg,  and  paying  a  visit  to  Mount 
Vernon.  He  now  stood  ready  to  obey  Washington's 
orders,  and  march  to  reinforce  General  Greene ;  but  his 
troops,  who  were  chiefly  from  the  Eastern  States,  mur- 
mured at  the  prospect  of  a  campaign  m  a  southern  cli- 
mate, and  desertions  began  to  occur.  Upon  this  he  an- 
nounced in  general  orders,  that  he  was  about  to  enter 
on  an  enterprise  of  great  difficulty  and  danger,  in  which 
he  trusted  his  soldiers  would  not  abandon  him.  Any, 
however,  who  were  unwilling,  should  receive  permits  tc 
return  home. 

As  he  had  anticipated,  their  pride  was  roused  by 
this  appeal.  All  engaged  to  continue  forward.  So 
great  was  the  fear  of  appearing  a  laggard,  or  a  craven, 
that  a  sergeant,  too  lame  to  march,  hired  a  place  in  a 
cart  to  keep  up  with  the  army.  In  the  zeal  of  the  mo- 
ment, Lafayette  borrowed  money  on  his  own  credit 
from  the  Baltimore  merchants,  to  purchase  summer 
clothing  for  his  troops,  in  which  he  was  aided,  too,  by 
the  ladies  of  the  city,  with  whom  he  was  deservedly 
popular. 

The  detachment  from  New  York,  under  General 
Phillips,  arrived  at  Portsmouth  on  the  26th  of  March. 
That  officer  immediately  took  command,  greatly  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  British  officers,  who  had  been  acting 
under  Arnold.  The  force  now  collected  there  amount- 
ed to  three  thousand  five  hundred  men.  The  gaiTison 
of  New  York  had  been  greatly  weakened  in  furnishing 
this  detachment,  but  Cornwallis  had  urged  the  policy 
of  transferring  the  seat  of  war  to  Virginia,  even  at  the 
expense  of  abandoning  New  York ;  declaring  that  until 

VOL.  IV. — 19 


290  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

that  State  was  subdued,  the  British  hold  upon  the  Car- 
olinas  must  be  difficult,  if  not  precarious. 

The  disparity  in  force  was  now  so  great,  that  the 
Baron  Steuben  had  to  withdraw  his  troops,  and  remove 
the  military  stores  into  the  interior.  Many  of  the  mili- 
tia, too,  their  term  of  three  months  being  expired, 
stacked  their  arms,  and  set  off  for  their  homes,  and 
most  of  the  residue  had  to  be  discharged. 

General  Phillips  had  hitherto  remained  quiet  in 
Portsmouth,  completing  the  fortifications,  but  evidently 
making  preparations  for  an  expedition.  On  the  16th 
of  April,  he  left  one  thousand  men  in  garrison,  and,  em- 
barking the  rest  in  small  vessels  of  light  draught,  pro- 
ceeded up  James  River,  destroying  armed  vessels,  pub- 
lic magazines,  and  a  ship-yard  belonging  to  the  State. 

Landing  at  City  Point,  he  advanced  against  Peters- 
burg, a  place  of  deposit  of  military  stores  and  tobacco. 
He  was  met  about  a  mile  below  the  town  by  about 
one  thousand  militia,  under  General  Muhlenberg,  who, 
after  disputing  the  ground  inch  by  inch  for  nearly  two 
hours,  with  considerable  loss  on  both  sides,  retreated 
across  the  Appomattox,  breaking  down  the  bridge 
behind  them. 

Phillips  entered  the  town,  set  fire  to  the  tobacco 
warehouses,  and  destroyed  all  the  vessels  lying  in  the 
river.  Repairing  and  crossing  the  bridge  over  the 
Appomattox,  he  proceeded  to  Chesterfield  Court-house, 
where  he  destroyed  barracks  and  public  stores ;  while 
Arnold,  with  a  detachment,  laid  waste  the  magazines 
of  tobacco  in  the  direction  of  Warwick.  A  fire  was 
opened  by  the  latter  from  a  few  field-pieces  on  the 
river  bank,  upon  a  squadron  of  small,  armed  vessels. 


1781.]  RICHMOND    SAVED    BY    LAFAYETTE.  291 

which  had  been  intended  to  co-operate  with  the  French 
fleet  against  Portsmouth.  The  crews  scuttled  or  set 
fire  to  them,  and  escaped  to  the  north  side  of  the  river. 

This  destructive  course  was  pursued  untU  they 
arrived  at  Manchester,  a  small  place  opposite  Rich- 
mond, where  the  tobacco  warehouses  were  immediately 
in  a  blaze.  Richmond  was  a  leading  object  of  this 
desolating  enterprise,  for  there  a  great  part  of  the  mili- 
tary stores  of  the  State  had  been  collected.  Fortu- 
nately, Lafayette  with  his  detachment  of  two  thousand 
men,  had  arrived  there  by  forced  marches,  the  evening 
before,  and  being  joined  by  about  two  thousand  militia 
and  sixty  dragoons,  (the  latter,  principally  young  Vir- 
ginians of  family,)  had  posted  himself  strongly  on  the 
hmh  banks  on  the  north  side  of  the  river. 

There  being  no  bridge  across  the  river  at  that  time, 
General  Phillips  did  not  think  it  piiident  to  attempt  a 
passage  in  face  of  such  a  force  so  posted ,  but  was 
extremely  irritated  at  being  thus  foiled  by  the  celerity 
of  his  youthful  opponent,  who  now  assumed  the  chief 
command  of  the  American  forces  in  A'^u'ginia. 

Returning  down  the  south  bank  of  the  river,  to 
the  place  where  his  vessels  awaited  him,  General  Phil- 
lips re-embarked  on  the  2d  of  May,  and  dropped 
slowly  down  the  river  below  the  confluence  of  the 
Chickahomony.  He  was  followed  cautiously,  and  his 
movements  watched  by  Lafiiyette,  who  posted  himself 
behind  the  last-named  river. 

Despatches  from  Cornwallis  now  informed  Phillips 
that  his  lordship  was  advancing  with  all  speed  from 
the  South  to  effect  a  junction  with  him.  The  general 
immediately  made  a  rapid  move  to  regain  possession  of 


292  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

Petersburg,  where  the  junction  was  to  take  place.  La- 
fayette attempted  by  forced  marches  to  get  there  before 
him,  but  was  too  late.  Falling  back,  therefore,  he 
recrossed  James  River  and  stationed  himself  some 
miles  below  Richmond,  to  be  at  hand  for  the  protection 
of  the  public  stores  collected  there. 

During  this  main  expedition  of  Phillips,  some  of 
his  smaller  vessels  had  carried  on  the  plan  of  plunder 
and  devastation  in  other  of  the  rivers  emptying  into 
the  Chesapeake  Bay  ,  setting  fire  to  the  houses  where 
they  met  with  resistance.  One  had  ascended  the 
Potomac  and  menaced  Mount  Vernon.  Lund  Wash- 
ington, who  had  charge  of  the  estate,  met  the  flag 
which  the  enemy  sent  on  shore,  and  saved  the  property 
from  ravage,  by  furnishing  the  vessel  with  provisions, 
Lafayette,  who  heard  of  the  circumstance,  and  was 
sensitive  for  the  honor  of  Washington,  immediately 
wrote  to  him  on  the  subject,  "  This  conduct  of  the  per- 
son who  represents  you  on  your  estate,"  wntes  he, 
"  must  certainly  produce  a  bad  effect,  and  contrast 
with  the  courageous  replies  of  some  of  your  neighbors, 
whose  houses  m  consequence  have  been  burnt.  You 
will  do  what  you  think  proper,  my  dear  general,  but 
friendship  makes  it  my  duty  to  give  you  confidentially 
the  facts." 

Washington,  however,  had  previously  received  a 
letter  from  Lund  himself,  stating  all  the  circumstances 
of  the  case,  and  had  immediately  written  him  a  reply. 
He  had  no  doubt  that  Lund  had  acted  from  his  best 
judgment,  and  with  a  view  to  preserve  the  property 
and  buildings  from  impending  danger,  but  he  was 
stung  to  the  quick  by  the  idea  that  his  agent  should 


1781.]      MOUNT   VERNON    SAVED    FROM    RAVAGE.         293 

go  on  board  of  the  enemy's  vessels,  carry  them  refresh- 
ments, and  "  commune  with  a  parcel  of  plundermg 
scoundrels,"  as  he  termed  them.  "  It  would  have  been 
a  less  painful  circumstance  to  me  to  have  heard,"  wntes 
he,  "  that  in  consequence  of  your  noncompliance  with 
their  request,  they  had  burnt  my  house  and  laid  my 
plantation  in  ruins.  You  ought  to  have  considered 
yourself  as  my  representative,  and  should  have  reflected 
on  the  bad  example  of  communicatmg  with  the  enemy 
and  making  a  voluntary  offer  of  refreshments  to  them, 
with  a  view  to  prevent  a  conflagration." 

In  concluding  his  letter,  he  expresses  his  opinion 
that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  enemy  to  prosecute  the 
plundering  plan  they  had  begun ;  and  that  it  would 
end  m  the  destruction  of  his  property,  but  adds,  that 
he  is  "  prepared  for  the  event."  He  advises  his  agent 
to  deposit  the  most  valuable  and  least  bulky  articles  in 
a  place  of  safety.  "  Such  and  so  many  things  as  are 
necessary  for  common  and  present  use  must  be  retained, 
and  must  run  their  chance  through  the  fiery  trial  of  this 
summer." 

Such  were  the  steadfast  purposes  of  Washington's 
mind  when  war  was  brought  home  to  his  door  and 
threatening  his  earthly  paradise  of  Mount  Vernon. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  desolating  career  of  Gen- 
eral Phillips  was  brought  to  a  close.  He  had  been  ill 
for  some  days  previous  to  his  arrival  at  Petersburg, 
and  by  the  time  he  reached  there,  was  no  longer  capa- 
ble of  giving  orders.  He  died  four  days  afterwards ; 
honored  and  deeply  regretted  by  his  brothers  in  arms, 
as  a  meritorious  arid  well-tried  soldier.  What  made 
his  death  to  be  more  sensibly  felt  by  them  at  this  mo- 


294  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

ment,  was,  that  it  put  the  traitor,  Arnold,  once  more  in 
the  general  command. 

He  held  it,  however,  but  for  a  short  time,  as  Lord 
Cornwallis  arrived  at  Petersburg  on  the  20th  of  May, 
after  nearly  a  month's  weary  marching  from  Wilmmg- 
ton.  His  lordship  on  taking  command,  found  his  force 
augmented  by  a  considerable  detachment  of  royal 
artillery,  two  battalions  of  light  infantry,  the  76  th  and 
80th  British  regiments,  a  Hessian  regiment.  Lieuten- 
ant-colonel Simcoe's  corps  of  Queen's  rangers,  cav- 
alry and  infantry,  one  hundred  yagers,  Arnold's  legion 
of  royalists,  and  the  garrison  of  Portsmouth.  He  was 
cheered  also  by  intelligence  that  Lord  Rawdon  had 
obtained  an  advantage  over  General  Greene  before  Cam- 
den, and  that  three  British  regiments  had  sailed  from 
Cork  for  Charleston.  His  mind,  we  are  told,  was  now 
set  at  ease  with  regard  to  Southern  affairs ;  his  spirits,  so 
long  jaded  by  his  harassing  tramps  about  the  Carolmas, 
were  again  Ufted  up  by  his  augmented  strength,  and 
Tarleton  assures  us,  that  his  lordship  indulged  in  "  bril- 
Hant  -hopes  of  a  glorious  campaign  in  those  parts  of 
America  where  he  commanded."  *  How  far  these 
hopes  were  realized  we  shall  show  in  a  future  page. 

*  Tarleton.    History  of  the  Campaign,  p.  291. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

ISIFFIOIENT  STATE  OF  THE  ABMT — MAKATTD  OF  DELANCET — DEATH  OF 
COLONEL  GREENE — AERIVAL  OF  THE  COUNT  DE  BABBAS — FBENOH 
KAVAL  FOBOE  EXPECTED^INTEBVIEW  OF  WASHINGTON  AND  DE  BO- 
CHAMBEATT  AT  WBATHEBSFIELD — PLAN  OF  COMBINED  0PEBATI0N8 — 
FINANCIAL  ABEANGEMENT  OF  EOBEET  MORBIS — SCHEME  TO  ATTACK 
THE  WORKS  OX  NEW  TOBK  ISLAND  AND  CAPTURE  DELANOET's  CORPS — 
ENCAMPMENTS  OF  AMERICAN  AND  FEENOE  ABMIES  IN  WESTCHESTEB 
COUNTT — BEOONNOITBING  EXPEDITIONS. 

While  aifairs  were  appioacliing  a  crisis  m  Virginia, 
troubles  were  threatening  from  the  north.  There  were 
rumors  of  invasion  from  Canada ;  of  war  councils  and 
leagues  among  the  savage  tribes  ;  of  a  revival  of  the 
territorial  feuds  between  New  York  and  Vermont. 
Such,  however,  was  the  deplorable  inefficiency  of  the 
military  system,  that  though,  according  to  the  resolves 
of  Congress,  there  were  to  have  been  thirty-seven  thou- 
sand men  under  arms  at  the  beginning  of  the  year, 
Washington's  whole  force  on  the  Hudson  in  the  month 
of  May  did  not  amount  to  seven  thousand  men,  of 
whom  httle  more  than  four  thousand  were  effective. 

He  still  had  his  head-quarters  at  New  Windsor,  just 
above  the  Highlands,  and  within  a  few  miles  of  West 
Point.     Here  he  received  intelligence  that  the  enemy 


296  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

were  in  force  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Hudson,  ma- 
rauding the  country  on  the  north  side  of  Croton  River, 
and  he  ordered  a  hasty  advance  of  Connecticut  troops 
in  that  direction. 

The  Croton  River  flows  from  east  to  west  across 
Westchester  County,  and  formed  as  it  were  the  barrier 
of  the  American  hues.  The  advanced  posts  of  Wash- 
ington's army  guarded  it,  and  by  its  aid,  protected  the 
upper  country  from  the  incursions  of  those  foraging  par- 
ties, and  marauders  which  had  desolated  the  neutral 
ground  below  it.  The  incursions  most  to  be  guarded 
against  were  those  of  Colonel  Delancey's  Loyahsts,  a 
horde  of  tories  and  refugees  which  had  their  stronghold 
in  Morris  ania,  and  were  the  teiTor  of  the  neighboring 
country.  There  was  a  petty  war  continually  going  on 
between  them  and  the  American  outposts,  often  of  a 
ruthless  kind.  Delancey's  horse  and  Delancey's  rangers 
scoured  the  country,  and  swept  off  forage  and  cattle  from 
its  fertile  valleys  for  the  British  army  at  New  York. 
Hence  they  were  sometimes  stigmatized  by  the  oppro- 
brious appellation  of  Cow  Boys. 

The  object  of  their  present  incursion  was  to  surprise 
an  outpost  of  the  American  army  stationed  near  a  ford- 
able  part  of  the  Croton  River,  not  far  from  Pine's 
Bridge.  The  post  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Chris- 
topher Greene,  of  Rhode  Island,  the  same  who  had 
successfully  defended  Fort  Mercer  on  the  Delaware, 
when  assailed  by  Count  Donop.  He  was  a  valuable 
officer,  highly  prized  by  Washington.  The  enterprise 
against  his  post  was  something  like  that  against  the 
post  of  Young's  House ;  both  had  been  checks  to  the 
foragers  of  this  harassed  region. 


1781.]     FORAY  OF  DELANCET*S  REFUGEES.       297 

Colonel  Delancey,  who  led  this  foray,  was  successor 
to  the  unfortunate  Andre  as  Adjutant-general  of  the 
British  army.  He  conducted  it  secretly,  and  in  the 
night,  at  the  head  of  a  hundred  horse  and  two  hundred 
foot.  The  Croton  was  forded  at  daybreak,  just  as  the 
night-guard  had  been  withdrawn,  and  the  farm  houses 
were  surprised  and  assailed  in  which  the  Americans 
were  quartered.  That  occupied  by  Colonel  Greene  and  a 
brother  officer.  Major  Flagg,  was  first  surrounded.  The; 
Major  started  from  his  bed,  and  discharged  his  pistols 
from  a  window,  but  was  shot  through  the  head,  and 
afterwards  despatched  by  cuts  and  thrusts  of  the  sabre. 

The  door  of  Greene's  room  was  burst  open  He 
defended  himself  vigorously  and  efFectnely  with  his 
sword,  for  he  had  great  strength,  but  he  was  over- 
powered by  numbers,  cut  down,  and  barbarously 
mangled.  A  massacre  was  going  on  in  other  quarters. 
Besides  these  two  officers,  there  were  between  thirty 
and  forty  killed  and  wounded,  and  several  made  priso- 
ners. 

It  is  said  that  Colonel  Delancey  was  not  present  at 
the  carnage,  but  remained  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Croton  to  secure  the  retreat  of  his  party.  It  may  be 
so ;  but  the  present  exploit  was  in  the  spirit  of  others 
by  which  he  had  contributed  to  harry  this  beautiful 
region,  and  make  it  a  "  bloody  ground."  No  foes  so 
ruthless  had  the  American  patriots  to  encounter  as  their 
own  tory  countrymen  in  arms. 

Before  the  troops  ordered  out  by  Washington  ar- 
rived at  the  post,  the  marauders  had  made  a  precipitate 
retreat.  They  had  attempted  to  carry  off  Greene  a  pri- 
soner, but  he  died  wilhm  three  quarters  of  a  mile  of  the 


29S  LIFE   OP  WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

house.  His  captors,  as  they  passed  by  the  farm  houses 
told  the  inhabitants  that,  should  there  be  any  inquiry 
after  the  colonel,  they  had  left  him  dead  at  the  edge 
of  the  woods.* 

Greene  was  but  forty-four  years  of  age  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  and  was  a  model  of  manly  strength  and 
comeliness.  A  true  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  he  had 
served  at  Lexington  and  Bunker's  Hill;  followed 
Arnold  through  the  Kennebec  wilderness  to  Quebec , 
fought  under  the  walls  of  that  city ;  distingmshed 
hitaiself  by  his  defence  of  Fort  Mercer  on  the  Dela- 
ware, and  by  his  kind  treatment  of  his  vanquished  and 
wounded  antagonist,  Colonel  Donop.  How  different 
the  treatment  experienced  by  him  at  the  hands  of  his 
tory  countrymen ! 

The  commander-in-chief,  we  are  told,  heard  with 
anguish  and  indignation  the  tragical  fate  of  this  his 
faithful  friend  and  soldier.  On  the  subsequent  day, 
the  corpse  of  Colonel  Greene  was  brought  to  head- 
quarters, and  his  funeral  solemnized  with  military  hon- 
ors and  universal  grief. f 

At  this  juncture,  Washington's  attention  was  called 
m  another  direction.  A  frigate  had  arrived  at  Boston, 
bringing  the  Count  de  Barras  to  take  command  of  the 
French  naval  force.  He  was  a  veteran  about  sixty 
years  of  age,  and  had  commanded  D'Estaing's  van- 
guard, when  he  forced  the  entrance  of  Newport  harbor. 
The  count  brought  the  cheering  intelligence,  that  an 
armament  of  twenty  ships  of  the  line,  with  land  forces, 

*  Letter  of  Paymaster  Hughes.     See  Bolton's  Westchester  Co.  Vol.  iL,  p. 
894. 

t  Lee's  Memoirs  of  the  Wars,  vol.  i.  p.  407. 


1T81.]  COiNl^ERENCE   AT  WEATHERSFIELD.  299 

was  to  sail,  or  had  sailed,  from  Prance,  under  the  Count 
de  Grasse  for  the  West  Indies,  and  that  twelve  of 
these  ships  were  to  relieve  the  squadron  at  Newport, 
and  might  be  expected  on  the  coast  of  the  United 
States  in  July  or  August. 

The  Count  de  Rochambeau,  having  received  de- 
spatches from  the  court  of  Prance,  now  requested  an 
interview  with  Washington.  The  latter  appointed 
Weathersfield  in  Connecticut  for  the  purpose ;  and  met 
the  count  there  on  the  22d  of  May,  hoping  to  settle 
a  definitive  plan  of  the  campaign.  Both  as  yet  were 
ignorant  of  the  arrival  of  Cornwallis  in  Virginia.  The 
pohcy  of  a  joint  expedition  to  relieve  the  Carolinas 
was  discussed.  As  the  French  ships  in  Newport  were 
still  blockaded  by  a  superior  force,  such  an  expedition 
would  have  to  be  made  by  land.  A  march  to  the 
Southern  States  was  long  and  harassing,  and  always 
attended  with  a  great  waste  of  life.  Such  would  cer- 
tainly be  the  case  at  present,  when  it  would  have  to  be 
made  in  the  heat  of  summer.  The  difficulties  and 
expenses  of  land  transportation,  also,  presented  a  for- 
midable objection. 

On  the  other  hand,  an  effective  blow  might  be 
struck  at  New  York,  the  garrison  having  been  reduced 
one-half  by  detachments  to  the  South.  That  impor- 
tant post  and  its  dependencies  might  be  wrested  from 
the  enemy,  or,  if  not,  they  might  be  obliged  to  recall  a 
part  of  their  force  from  the  South  for  their  own  defence. 

It  was  determined,  therefore,  that  the  French  troops 
should  march  from  Newport  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
form  a  junction  with  the  American  army  on  the  Hud- 
son, and  that  both  should  move  down  to  the  vicinity 


300  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  .  [1781. 

of  New  York  to  make  a  combined  attack,  in  which  the 
Count  de  Grasse  should  be  mvited  to  co-operate  with 
his  fleet  and  a  body  of  land  troops. 

A  vessel  was  despatched  by  De  Rochambeau,  to 
inform  the  Count  de  Grasse  of  this  arrangement ;  an. 
letters  were  addressed  by  Washington  to  the  execu- 
tive authorities  of  New  Jersey  and  the  New  England 
States,  urgmg  them  to  fill  up  their  battalions  and  fur- 
nish their  quotas  of  provisions.  Notwithstandmg  all 
his  exertions  however,  when  he  mustered  his  forces  at 
Peekskill,  he  was  mortified  to  find  not  more  than  five 
thousand  effective  men.  Notwithstanding,  too,  all  the 
resolutions  passed  in  the  legislatures  of  the  various 
States  for  supplying  the  army,  it  would,  at  this  critical 
moment,  have  been  destitute  of  provisions,  especially 
bread,  had  it  not  been  for  the  zeal,  talents,  and  activity 
of  Mr.  Robert  Morris,  now  a  delegate  to  Congress,  from 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  recently  appointed  su- 
perintendent of  finance.  This  patriotic  and  energetic 
man,  when  public  means  failed,  pledged  his  own  credit 
in  transporting  military  stores  and  feeding  the  army. 
Throughout  the  Revolution,  Washington  was  continu- 
ally baffled  m  the  hopes  caused  by  the  resolutions  of 
legislative  bodies,  too  often  as  little  ahmentary  as  the 
east  wind. 

The  Count  de  Rochambeau  and  the  Duke  de  Lau- 
zun  being  arrived  with  their  troops  in  Connecticut,  on 
their  way  to  join  the  American  army,  Washington 
prepared  for  spirited  operations;  quickened  by  the 
intelligence  that  a  part  of  the  garrison  of  New  York 
had  been  detached  to  forage  the  Jerseys.  Two  objects 
were  contemplated  by  him :  one,  the  surprisal  of  the 


1T81.]  PLAN  OF  ATTACK.  301 

British  works  at  the  north  end  of  New  York  Island ; 
the  other,  the  capture  or  destruction  of  Delancey's 
corps  of  refugees  in  Morrisania.  The  attack  upon 
the  posts  was  to  be  conducted  by  General  Lincoln,  with 
a  detachment  from  the  main  army,  which  he  was  to 
bring  down  by  water — that  on  Delancey's  corps  by 
the  Duke  de  Lauzun  with  his  legion,  aided  by  Shel- 
don's dragoons,  and  a  body  of  Connecticut  troops. 
Both  operations  were  to  be  carried  into  effect  on  the 
3d  of  July.  The  duke  was  to  march  down  from 
Ridgebury  in  Connecticut,  for  the  purpose.  Every 
thing  was  to  be  conducted  with  secrecy  and  by  the 
way  of  surprisal.  Should  any  thuig  occur  to  prevent 
Lincoln  from  attempting  the  works  on  New  York 
Island,  he  was  to  land  his  men  above  Spyt  den 
Duivel  Creek,  march  to  the  high  grounds  in  front  of 
King's  Bridge,  he  concealed  there  until  the  duke's 
attack  on  Delancey's  corps  should  be  announced  by  fir- 
ing or  other  means ;  then  to  dispose  of  his  force  m  such 
manner  as  to  make  tlie  enemy  think  it  larger  than  it 
really  was ,  thereby  deterring  troops  from  coming  over 
the  bridge  to  turn  Lauzun's  right,  while  he  prevented 
the  escape  over  the  bridge  of  Delancey's  refugees  when 
routed  from  Morrisania. 

Washington,  at  the  same  time,  wrote  a  confidential 
letter  to  Governor  Clinton,  informing  him  of  designs 
upon  the  enemy's  posts.  "  Should  we  be  happy  enough 
to  succeed,"  writes  he,  "  and  be  able  to  hold  our  con- 
quest, the  advantages  will  be  greater  than  can  well  be 
imagined.  But  I  cannot  flatter  myself  that  the  enemy 
will  permit  the  latter,  unless  I  am  suddenly  and  con- 
siderably reinforced.     I  shall  march  do^vn  the  remain- 


302  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

der  of  this  army,  and  I  have  hopes  that  the  French 
force  will  be  near  at  hand  at  the  time.  But  I  shall, 
notwithstandmg,  direct  the  alarm-guns  and  beacons  to 
be  fired  in  case  of  success  ;  and  I  have  to  request,  that 
your  Excellency  will,  upon  such  signals,  communicate 
the  meaning  of  them  to  the  militia,  and  put  yourself 
at  the  head  of  them,  and  march  with  the  utmost  expe- 
dition to  King's  Bridge,  bringing  with  you  three  or 
four  days'  provision  at  least." 

It  was  a  service  which  would  have  been  exactly 
to  the  humor  of  George  Clinton. 

In  pursuance  of  the  plan,  Lincoln  left  the  camp 
near  Peekskill  on  the  1st,  with  eight  hundred  men,  and 
artillery,  and  proceeded  to  Teller's  Point,  where  they 
were  embarked  m  boats  with  muffled  oars,  and  rowed 
silently  at  night  do^^^l  the  Tappan  Sea,  that  region  of 
mystery  and  secret  enterprise.  At  daylight  they  kept 
concealed  under  the  land.  The  Duke  de  Lauzun  was 
supposed,  at  the  same  time,  to  be  on  the  way  from 
Connecticut.  Washington,  at  three  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  2d,  left  his  tents  standing  at  Peekskill, 
and  commenced  his  march  with  his  main  force,  without 
baggage ;  making  a  brief  halt  at  Croton  Bridge,  about 
nine  miles  from  Peekskill ,  another  at  the  Sleepy  Hol- 
low Church,  near  Tarrytown,  where  he  halted  until 
dusk,  and  completed  the  rest  of  his  march  in  the  night, 
to  Valentine's  Hill,  four  miles  above  King's  Bridge, 
where  he  arrived  about  sunris6.  There  he  posted  him- 
self to  cover  the  detached  troops,  and  improve  any 
advantages  that  might  be  gained  by  them. 

Lincoln,  on  the  morning  of  the  2d,  had  left  his  flo- 
tilla concealed  under  the  eastern  shore  and  crossed  to 


1781.J  FAILURE   OP   THE    ENTERPRISE.  303 

Fort  Lee  to  reconnoitre  Fort  Washington  from  the  chffs 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Hudson.  To  his  surprise 
and  chagrin,  he  discovered  a  British  force  encamped  on 
the  north  end  of  New  York  Island,  and  a  ship-of-war 
anchored  in  the  river.  In  fact,  the  troops  which  had 
been  detached  into  the  Jerseys,  had  returned,  and  the 
enemy  were  on  the  alert ;  the  surprisal  of  the  forts, 
therefore,  was  out  of  the  question. 

Lincoln's  thoughts  now  were  to  aid  the  Duke  de 
Lauzun's  part  of  the  scheme,  as  he  had  been  instructed. 
Before  daylight  of  the  3d,  he  landed  his  troops  above 
Spyt  den  Duivel  Creek,  and  took  possession  of  the 
high  ground  on  the  north  of  Harlem  River,  where 
Fort  Independence  once  stood.  Here  he  was  discov- 
ered by  a  foraging  party  of  the  enemy,  fifteen  hundred 
strong,  who  had  sallied  out  at  daybreak  to  scour  the 
country.  An  irregular  skirmish  ensued.  The  firing 
was  heard  by  the  Duke  de  Lauzun,  who  was  just  ar- 
rived with  his  troops  at  East  Chester,  fatigued  by  a 
long  and  forced  march  in  sultry  weather.  Finding  the 
country  alarmed,  and  all  hope  of  surprising  Delancey's 
corps  at  an  end,  he  hastened  to  the  support  of  Lin- 
coln. Washington  also  advanced  with  his  troops  from 
Valentine's  Hill.  The  British,  perceiving  their  dano-er, 
retreated  to  their  boats  on  the  east  side  of  Harlem 
River  and  crossed  over  to  New  York  Island.  A  trifling 
loss  in  killed  and  wounded  had  been  sustained  on  each 
side,  and  Lincoln  had  made  a  few  prisoners. 

Being  disappointed  in  both  objects,  Washington 
did  not  care  to  fatigue  his  troops  any  more,  but  suf- 
fered them  to  remain  on  their  arms,  and  spent  a  good 
part  of  the  day  reconnoitring  the  enemy's  works.     In 


304  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

the  afternoon  he  retired. to  Valentine's  Hill  and  the 
next  day  inarched  to  Dobbs  Ferry,  where  he  was  joined 
by  the  Count  de  Rochambeau  on  the  6th  of  July. 
The  two  armies  now  encamped  ;  the  American  in  two 
lines,  resting  on  the  Hudson  at  Dobbs  Ferry,  where  it 
was  covered  by  batteries  and  extending  eastward  toward 
the  Neperan  or  Sawmill  River ;  the  French  m  a  sin- 
gle line  on  the  hills  further  east,  reaching  to  the  Bronx 
River.  The  beautiful  valley  of  the  Neperan  intervened 
between  the  encampments.  It  was  a  lovely  country 
for  a  summer  encampment,  breezy  hills  commanding 
wide  prospects  ;  umbrageous  valleys  watered  by  bright 
pastoral  streams,  the  Bronx,  the  Spraine  and  the  Nepe- 
ran, and  abounding  with  never-failing  springs.  The 
French  encampment  made  a  gallant  display  along  the 
Greenburgh  hills.  Some  of  the  officers,  young  men 
of  rank,  to  whom  this  was  all  a  service  of  romance, 
took  a  pride  in  decorating  then*  tents  and  forming  Uttle 
gardens  in  their  vicinity.  "  We  have  a  charming  posi- 
tion among  rocks  and  under  magnificent  tuhp  trees ,  " 
writes  one  of  them,  the  Count  Dumas.  General 
Washington  was  an  object  of  their  enthusiasm.  He 
visited  the  tents  they  had  so  gaily  embellished ,  for, 
with  all  his  gravity,  he  was  fond  of  the  company  of 
young  men.  They  were  apprised  of  his  coming,  and 
set  out  on  their  camp-tables  plans  of  the  battle  of 
Trenton ,  of  West  Point,  and  other  scenes  connected 
with  the  war  The  greatest  harmony  prevailed  between 
the  armies.  The  two  commanders  had  their  respective 
head-quarters  in  farm-houses,  and  occasionally,  on  fes- 
tive occasions,  long  tables  were  spread  in  the  adjacent 
bams,  which  were  converted  into  banqueting  halls. 


1781.]  Washington's  plans.  305 

The  young  French  officers  gained  the  good  graces  of 
the  country  belles,  though  little  acquainted  with  their 
language.  Their  encampment  was  particularly  gay, 
and  it  was  the  boast  of  an  old  lady  of  the  neighbor- 
hood many  years  after  the  war,  that  she  had  danced  at 
head-quarters  when  a  girl  with  the  celebrated  Marshal 
Berthier,  at  that  time  one  of  the  aides-de-camp  of  the 
Count  de  R-ochambeau.* 

The  two  armies  lay  thus  encamped  for  three  or 
four  weeks.  In  the  mean  time  letters  urged  Washing- 
ton's presence  in  Virginia.  Richard  Henry  Lee  advised 
that  he  should  come  with  two  or  three  thousand  good 
troops  and  be  clothed  with  dictatorial  powers.  "  There 
is  nothing  I  think  more  certain,"  writes  Lee,  "  than 
that  your  personal  call  would  bring  into  immediate 
exertion  the  force  and  the  resources  of  this  State  and 
the  neighboring  ones,  which,  directed  as  they  would 
be,  will  effectually  disappoint  and  baffle  the  deep-laid 
schemes  of  the  enemy." 

"I  am  fully  persuaded,  and  upon  good  military 
principles,"  writes  Washington  in  reply,  "that  the 
measures  I  have  adopted  will  give  more  effectual  and 
speedy  rehef  to  the  State  of  Virginia,  than  my  march- 
ing thither,  with  dictatorial  powers,  at  the  head  of 
every  man  I  could  draw  from  hence,  without  leaving  the 
important  posts  on  the  North  River  quite  defenceless 
and  these  States  open  to  devastation  and  ruin.  My 
present  plan  of  operation  which  I  have  been  preparing 
with  all  the  zeal  and  activity  in  my  power,  will,  I  am 
morally  certain,  with  proper  support  produce  one  of 

•  Bolton's  Hist  of  Westchester  Cy.,  vol.  I  p.  243. 
VOL.  IV. — ^20 


306  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

two  things,  either  the  fall  of  New  York,  or  a  with- 
drawal of  the  troops  from  Virginia,  excepting  a  garri- 
son at  Portsmouth,  at  which  place  I  have  no  doubt  of 
the  enemy's  intention  of  establishing  a  permanent  post.'* 

Within  two  or  three  days  after  this  letter  was 
written,  Washington  crossed  the  river  at  Dobbs  Ferry, 
accompanied  by  the  Count  de  Rochambeau,  General  de 
Beville,  and  General  Duportail,  to  reconnoitre  the 
British  posts  on  the  north  end  of  New  York  Island. 
They  were  escorted  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  the 
New  Jersey  troops,  and  spent  the  day  on  the  Jersey 
heights  ascertaining  the  exact  position  of  the  enemy  on 
the  opposite  shore.  Their  next  movement  was  to  re- 
connoitre the  enemy's  posts  at  King's  Bridge  and  on 
the  east  side  of  New  York  island,  and  to  cut  off,  if 
possible,  such  of  Delancey's  corps  as  should  be  found 
without  the  British  lines.  Five  thousand  troops, 
French  and  American,  led  by  the  Count  de  Chas- 
tellux  and  General  Lincoln,  were  to  protect  this 
reconnoissance,  and  menace  the  enemy's  posts.  Every 
thing  was  prepared  in  secrecy.  On  the  21st  of 
July,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  troops  began 
their  march  in  separate  columns ,  part  down  the 
Hudson  River  road,  part  down  the  Sawmill  River 
valley;  part  by  the  Eastchester  road.  Scammel's 
light  mfantr}^  advanced  through  the  fields  to  waylay 
the  roads,  stop  all  commimication,  and  prevent  intelli- 
gence getting  to  the  enemy  Sheldon's  cavalry  with 
the  Connecticut  troops  were  to  scour  Throg's  Neck. 
Sheldon's  infantry  and  Lauzun's  lancers  were  to  do  the 
same  with  the  refugee  region  of  Morrisania. 

The  whole  detachment  arrived  at  King's  Bridge 


1781].  GRAND   REC0NN0I8SANCE.  307 

about  daylight,  and  formed  on  the  height  back  of  Fort  In- 
pendence.  The  enemy's  forts  on  New  York  Island  did 
not  appear  to  have  the  least  intelligence  of  what  was 
going  on,  nor  to  be  aware  that  hostile  troops  were  upon 
the  heights  opposite,  until  the  latter  displayed  them- 
selves in  full  array,  then*  arms  flashing  in  the  morning 
sunshme,  and  their  banners,  American  and  French,  un- 
folded to  the  breeze. 

While  the  enemy  were  thus  held  in  check,  Wash- 
ington and  De  Rochambeau,  accompanied  by  engineers 
and  by  their  staffs,  set  out  under  the  escort  of  a  troop 
of  dragoons  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy/s  position  and 
works  from  every  point  of  view.  It  was  a  wide  recon- 
noissance,  extending  across  the  country  outside  of  the 
British  lines  from  the  Hudson  to  the  Sound.  The 
whole  was  done  slowly  and  scientifically,  exact  notes 
and  diagrams  being  made  of  every  thing  that  might  be 
of  importance  in  future  operations.  As  the  "  cortege" 
moved  slowly  along,  or  paused  to  make  observation,  it 
was  cannonaded  from  the  distant  works,  or  from  the 
armed  vessels  stationed  on  the  neighboring  waters,  but 
without  injuring  it  or  quickening  its  movements. 

According  to  De  Rochambeau's  account,  the  two 
reconnoitring  generals  were  at  one  time  in  an  awk- 
ward and  hazardous  predicament.  They  had  passed, 
he  said,  to  an  island  separated  by  an  arm  of  the  sea  from 
the  enemy's  post  on  Long  Island,  and  the  engineers 
were  employed  in  making  scientific  observations,  regard- 
less of  the  firing  of  small  vessels  stationed  in  the  Sound. 
During  this  time,  the  two  generals,  exhausted  by  fa- 
tigue and  summer  heat,  slept  under  shelter  of  a  hedge. 


308  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

De  Rochambeau  was  the  first  to  awake,  and  was  star- 
tled at  observing  the  state  of  the  tide,  which  during  their 
slumber  had  been  rapidly  rising.  Awakening  Wash- 
ington and  calling  his  attention  to  it,  they  hastened  to 
the  causeway  by  which  they  had  crossed  from  the  main- 
land. It  was  covered  with  water.  Two  small  boats 
were  brought,  in  which  they  embarked  with  the  saddles 
and  bridles  of  the  horses.  Two  American  dragoons 
then  returned  m  the  boats  to  the  shore  of  the  island, 
where  the  horses  remained  under  care  of  their  comrades. 
Two  of  the  horses,  which  were  good  swimmers,  were 
held  by  the  bridle  and  guided  across ;  the  rest  were 
drn  en  into  the  water  by  the  smack  of  the  whip,  and 
followed  their  leaders  ,  the  boats  then  brought  over  the 
rest  of  the  party.  De  Rochambeau  admired  this  ma- 
noeuvre as  a  specimen  of  American  tactics  m  the  manage- 
ment of  wild  horses ,  but  he  thought  it  lucky  that  the 
enemy  kncAv  nothing  of  their  embarrassment,  which 
lasted  nearly  an  hour,  otherwise  they  might  hterally 
have  been  caught  napping. 

While  the  enemy's  works  had  been  thoroughly  re- 
connoitred, hght  troops  and  lancers  had  performed 
their  duty  in  scouring  the  neighborhood.  The  refugee 
posts  which  had  desolated  the  country  were  broken  up. 
Most  of  the  refugees,  Washington  says,  had  fled  and 
hid  themselves  in  secret  places ,  some  got  over  by 
stealth  to  the  adjacent  islands,  and  to  the  enemy's  ship- 
ping, and  a  few  were  caught.  Having  effected  the 
purposes  of  their  expedition,  the  two  generals  set  off 
with  their  troops,  on  the  23d,  for  their  encampment, 
where  they  arrived  about  midnight. 


1Y81.]  EFFECT   OF    THE    RECONNOISSAJICE.  809 

The  immediate  effect  of  this  threatening  movement 
of  Washington  appears  m  a  letter  of  Sir  Henry  Chnton 
to  Cornwallis,  dated  July  26th,  requestmg  him  to  order 
three  regiments  to  New  York  from  Carolma.  "  I  shall 
probably  want  them  as  well  as  the  troops  you  may  hr. 
able  to  spare  me  from  the  Chesapeake  for  such  offen- 
sive or  defensive  operations  as  may  offer  in  this  quarter."* 

And  Washington  writes  to  Lafayette  a  few  days 
subsequently  "  I  think  we  have  already  effected  one 
part  of  the  plan  of  the  campaign  settled  at  Weathers- 
field,  that  is,  givmg  a  substantial  relief  to  the  Southern 
States,  by  obliging  the  enemy  to  recall  a  considerable 
part  of  their  force  from  thence.  Our  views  must  now 
be  turned  towards  endeavoring  to  expel  them  totally 
from  those  States,  if  we  find  ourselves  incompetent  to 
the  siege  of  New  York." 

We  will  now  give  the  reader  a  view  of  affairs  in 
Virginia,  and  show  how  they  were  ultimately  affected 
by  these  military  manoeuvres  and  demonstrations  in  the 
neighborhood  of  King's  Bridge. 

*  Correspondence  relative  to  operations  in  Virginia,  p.  153. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

MOVEMENTS  AND  OOTJNTEE-MO YEMEN  T8  OF  00BNWALLI3  AND  LAJFATETTE 
IN  VIRGINIA — TAELETON  AND  HI9  TEOOPER3  SCOUR  THE  COUNTBT — 
A  DASH  AT  THE  STATE  LEGISLATURE — ATTEMPT  TO  SURPRISE  THE 
GOVEBNOB  AT  MONTIOELLO — RETREAT  OF  JEFFERSON  TO  CARTER'S 
MOUNTAIN — STEUBEN  OUTWITTED  ET  8IMC0E — LAFAYETTE  JOINED  BY 

TVATNE  AND  STEUBEN ACTS  ON  THE  AGGRESSIVE — DESPERATE  MELEE 

OF   MACPHEESON  AND  SIMCOE — OORNWALLIS  PURSUED  TO  JAMESTOWN 

ISLAND MAD    ANTHONT    IN     A    MORASS — HIS     IMPETUOUS    VALOR — 

ALERTNESS   OF    LAFAYETTE — WASHINGTON'S   OPINION   OF   THE   VIRGI- 
NIA  CAMPAIGN. 

The  first  object  of  Lord  Cornwallis  on  the  junction  of 
his  forces  at  Petersburg  in  May,  was  to  strike  a  blow 
at  Lafayette.  The  marquis  was  encamped  on  the  north 
side  of  James  River,  between  Wilton  and  Richmond, 
with  about  one  thousand  regulars,  two  thousand  militia, 
and  fifty  dragoons.  He  was  waiting  for  reinforcements 
of  militia,  and  for  the  arrival  of  General  Wayne,  with 
the  Pennsylvania  line.  The  latter  had  been  ordered  to 
the  South  by  Washington,  nearly  three  months  pre- 
viously ;  but  unavoidably  delayed.  Joined  by  these, 
Lafayette  would  venture  to  receive  a  blow,  "  that  bemg 
beaten,  he  might  at  least  be  beaten  with  decency,  and 
Cornwallis  pay  something  for  his  victory."  * 

*  Letter  to  Hamilton,  May  23d. 


1781.]  MOVEMENTS    OF    CORNWALLIS.  311 

His  lordship  hoped  to  draw  him  into  an  action  be- 
fore thus  reinforced,  and  with  that  view,  marched  on  the 
24th  of  May,  from  Petersburg  to  James  River,  which  he 
crossed  at  Westover,  about  thirty  miles  below  Richmond. 
Here  he  was  joined  on  the  26th  by  a  reinforcement  just 
arrived  from  New  York,  part  of  which  he  sent  under 
General  Leslie  to  strengthen  the  garrison  at  Portsmouth. 
He  was  relieved  also  from  military  companionship  with 
the  infamous  Arnold,  who  obtained  leave  of  absence 
to  return  to  New  York,  where  busmess  of  importance 
was  said  to  demand  his  attention.  While  he  was  in 
command  of  the  British  army  in  Virgmia,  Lafayette  had 
refused  to  hold  any  correspondence,  or  reciprocate  any 
of  the  civihties  of  war  with  him ;  for  which  he  was 
highly  applauded  by  Washington. 

Being  now  strongly  reinforced,  Comwallis  moved 
to  dislodge  Lafayette  from  Richmond.  The  latter,  con- 
scious of  the  inferiority  of  his  forces,  decamped  as  soon 
as  he  heard  his  lordship  had  crossed  James  River.  "  I 
am  resolved,"  said  he,  "  on  a  war  of  skirmishes,  without 
engaging  too  far,  and  above  all,  to  be  on  my  guard 
against  that  numerous  and  excellent  cavalry,  which  the 
militia  dread,  as  if  they  were  so  many  savage  beasts." 
He  now  directed  his  march  toward  the  upper  country, 
inclining  to  the  north,  to  favor  a  junction  with  Wayne 
Comwallis  followed  him  as  far  as  the  upper  part  of 
Hanover  County,  destroying  public  stores  wherever 
found.  He  appears  to  have  undeiTalued  Lafayette,  on 
account  of  his  youth.  "  The  boy  cannot  escape  me," 
said  he  in  a  letter  which  was  intercepted.  The  youth 
of  the  marquis,  however,  aided  the  celerity  of  his  move- 
ments ;  and  now  that  he  had  the  responsibility  of  an 


312  LIFE    OP   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

independent  command,  he  restrained  his  youthful  fire, 
and  love  of  enterprise.  Independence  had  rendered 
him  cautious.  "  I  am  afraid  of  myself,"  said  he,  "  as 
much  as  of  the  enemy."  * 

Cornwalhs  soon  found  it  impossible  either  to  over- 
take Lafayette,  or  prevent  his  junction  with  Wayne ,  he 
turned  his  attention,  therefore,  to  other  objects. 

Greene,  in  his  passage  through  Virginia,  had  urged 
the  importance  of  removing  horses  out  of  the  way  of  the 
enemy ;  his  caution  had  been  neglected ;  the  conse- 
quences were  now  felt.  The  great  number  of  fine  hor- 
ses in  the  stables  of  Virginia  gentlemen,  who  are  noted 
for  their  love  of  the  noble  animal,  had  enabled  Com- 
waUis  to  mount  many  of  his  troops  in  first-rate  style. 
These  he  employed  in  scouring  the  countiy,  and  de- 
stroying public  stores.  Tarleton  and  his  legion,  it  is  said, 
were  mounted  on  race-horses.  "  Under  this  cloud  of 
hght  troops,"  said  Lafayette,  "  it  is  difficult  to  counter- 
act any  rapid  movements  they  may  choose  to  take  !" 

The  State  legislature  had  been  removed  for  safety 
to  Charlottesville,  where  it  was  assembled  for  the  pur- 
pose of  levying  taxes,  and  drafting  militia.  Tarleton, 
with  one  hundred  and  eighty  cavalry  and  seventy 
mounted  infantry,  was  ordered  by  Cornwalhs  to  make 
a  dash  there,  break  up  the  legislature,  and  carry  off  mem- 
bers. On  his  way  thither,  on  the  4th  of  June,  he  cap- 
tured and  destroyed  a  convoy  of  arms  and  clothing  des- 
tined for  Greene's  army  in  North  Carohna.  At  ano- 
ther place  he  surprised  several  persons  of  note  at  the 
house  of  a  Dr.  Walker,  but  lingered  so  long  breakfast- 

»  Letter  to  Col.  Alex.  Hamilton,  May  23,  1780. 


1781.]  MARAUDS    OF   TARLETON.  313 

ing,  that  a  person  mounted  on  a  fleet  horse  had  time 
to  reach  Charlottesville  before  him,  and  spread  the 
alarm.  Tarleton  crossed  the  Rivanna,  which  washes 
the  hill  on  which  Charlottesville  is  situated ;  dispersed 
a  small  force  collected  on  the  bank,  and  galloped  into 
the  town  thinking  to  capture  the  whole  assembly 
Seven  alone  fell  into  his  hand ,  the  rest  had  made  their 
escape.  No  better  success  attended  a  party  of  horse  un- 
der Captam  McLeod,  detached  to  surprise  the  Governor, 
(Thomas  Jefferson),  at  his  residence  in  Monticello,  about 
three  miles  from  Charlottesville,  where  several  members 
of  the  Legislature  were  his  guests.  The  dragoons  were 
espied  wmding  up  the  mountam,  the  guests  dis- 
persed ;  the  family  was  hurried  off  to  the  residence  of 
Colonel  Carter,  six  miles  distant,  while  the  governor 
himself  made  a  rapid  retreat  on  horseback  to  Carter's 
Mountam. 

Having  set  fire  to  all  the  public  stores  at  Char- 
lottesville, Tarleton  pushed  for  the  point  of  Fork  at 
the  confluence  of  the  Rivanna  and  Fluvanna,  to  aid, 
if  necessary,  a  detachment  of  Yagers,  infantry  and 
hussars  sent  under  Colonel  Simcoe  to  destroy  a  great 
quantity  of  military  stores  collected  at  that  post.  The 
Baron  Steuben,  who  was  stationed  there  with  five  hun- 
dred Virginia  regulars  and  a  few  militia,  and  had 
heard  of  the  march  of  Tarleton,  had  succeeded  in 
transporting  the  greater  part  of  the  stores,  as  well  as 
his  troops  across  the  river,  and  as  the  water  was  deep 
and  the  boats  were  all  on  his  side,  he  might  have  felt 
himself  secure.  The  unexpected  appearance  of  Sim- 
coe's  infantry,  however,  designedly  spread  out  on  the 
opposite  heights,  deceived  him  into  the  idea  that  it  was 


314  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

the  van  of  the  British  army.  In  his  alarm  he  made  a 
night  retreat  of  thirty  miles,  leavmg  the  greater  part 
of  the  stores  scattered  along  the  river  bank ;  which 
were  destroyed  the  next  morning  by  a  small  detach- 
ment of  the  enemy  sent  across  in  canoes. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  Lafayette  was  at  length  glad- 
dened by  the  arrival  of  Wayne  Avith  about  nine  hun- 
dred of  the  Pennsylvania  line.  Thus  reinforced  he 
changed  his  whole  plan  and  ventured  on  the  aggres- 
sive. Cornwallis  had  gotten  between  him  and  a  large 
deposit  of  military  stores  at  Albemarle  Old  Court 
House. 

The  marquis,  by  a  rapid  march  at  night,  through  a 
road  long  disused,  threw  himself  between  the  British 
araiy  and  the  stores,  and,  being  joined  by  a  numerous 
body  of  mountain  militia,  took  a  strong  position  to 
dispute  the  advance  of  the  enemy 

Cornwallis  did  not  think  it  advisable  to  pursue  this 
enterprise,  especially  as  he  heard  Lafayette  would  soon 
be  joined  by  forces  under  Baron  Steuben.  Yielding 
easy  credence,  therefore,  to  a  report  that  the  stores  had 
been  removed  from  Albemarle  Court  House,  he  turned 
his  face  toward  the  lower  part  of  Virginia  and  made 
a  retrograde  march,  first  to  Richmond,  and  afterwards 
to  Williamsburg. 

Lafayette,  being  joined  by  Steuben  and  his  forces, 
had  about  four  thousand  men  under  him,  one  half  of 
whom  were  regulars.  He  now  followed  the  Bntish 
army  at  the  distance  of  eighteen  or  twenty  miles, 
throwing  forward  his  light  troops  to  harass  their  rear, 
which  was  covered  by  Tarle'ton  and  Simcoe  with  their 
cavalry  and  infantry. 


1T81.]  SKIRMISH   WITH    SIMCOE.  316 

Coniwallis  arrived  at  Williamsburg  on  the  25th, 
and  sent  out  Simcoe  with  his  rangers  and  a  company 
of  Yagers  to  destroy  some  boats  and  stores  on  the 
Chickahominy  River,  and  to  sweep  off  the  cattle  of  the 
neighborhood.  Lafayette  heard  of  the  ravage,  and 
detached  Lieutenant  Colonel  Butler  of  the  Pennsylva- 
nia hne  with  a  corps  of  light  troops  and  a  body  of 
horse  under  Major  McPherson  to  intercept  the  marau- 
ders. As  the  infantry  could  not  push  on  fast  enough 
for  the  emergency,  McPherson  took  up  fifty  of  them 
behind  fifty  of  his  dragoons  and  dashed  on.  He  over- 
took a  company  of  Simcoe's  rangers  under  Captain 
Shank,  about  six  miles  from  Williamsburg  foraging  at 
a  farm ,  a  sharp  encounter  took  place ;  McPherson 
at  the  outset  was  unhorsed  and  severely  hurt.  The 
action  continued.  Simcoe  with  his  infantry,  who  had 
been  in  the  advance  convoying  a  drove  of  cattle,  now 
engaged  in  the  fight.  Butler's  riflemen  began  to  arrive 
and  supported  the  dragoons.  It  was  a  desperate 
melee ,  much  execution  was  done  on  both  sides.  Nei- 
ther knew  the  strength  of  the  force  they  were  contend- 
ing with ;  but  supposed  it  the  advance  guard  of  the 
opposite  army.  An  alarm  gun  was  fired  by  the  British 
on  a  neighboring  hill.  It  was  answered  by  alarm  guns 
at  Williamsburg.  The  Americans  supposed  the  whole 
British  force  coming  out  to  assail  them,  and  began  to 
retire.  Simcoe  imagining  Lafayette  to  be  at  hand  like- 
wise drew  off  and  pursued  his  march  to  Williamsburg. 
Both  parties  fought  well;  both  had  been  severely 
handled ;  both  claimed  a  victory  though  neither  gained 
one.  The  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides  was 
severe  for  the  number  engaged;  but  the   statements 


316  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781 

vary,  and  were  never  reconciled.  It  is  certain  the 
result  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  Americans  and 
inspired  them  with  redoubled  ardor. 

An  express  was  received  by  Cornwallis  at  Wil- 
liamsburg which  obliged  him  to  change  his  plans.  The 
movements  of  Washington  in  the  neighborhood  of 
New  York  menacing  an  attack  had  produced  the  desired 
effect.  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  alarmed  for  the  safety  of 
the  place,  had  written  to  Cornwallis  requiring  a  part  of 
his  troops  for  its  protection.  His  lordship  prepared  to 
comply  with  this  requisition,  but  as  it  would  leave  him 
too  weak  to  continue  at  Williamsburg,  he  set  out  on 
the  4th  of  July  for  Portsmouth. 

Lafayette  followed  him  on  the  ensuing  day,  and 
took  post  within  nine  miles  of  his  camp ,  intending, 
when  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  should  have  crossed 
the  ford  to  the  island  of  Jamestown,  to  fall  upon  the 
rear  guard.  ComwalUs  suspected  his  design  and  pre- 
pared to  take  advantage  of  it.  The  wheel  carriages, 
bat  horses  and  baggage  were  passed  over  to  the  island 
under  the  escort  of  the  Queen's  rangers ,  making  a 
great  display,  as  if  the  main  body  had  crossed;  his 
lordship,  however,  with  the  greater  part  of  his  forces, 
remained  on  the  mam  land,  his  right  covered  by  ponds, 
the  centre  and  left  by  morasses  over  which  a  few  nar- 
row causeways  of  logs  connected  his  position  with  the 
country,  and  James  Island  lay  in  the  rear.  His  camp 
was  concealed  by  a  skirt  of  woods  and  covered  by  an 
outpost. 

In  the  morning  of  the  6th  as  the  Americans  were 
advancing,  a  negro  and  a  dragoon,  employed  by  Tarle- 
ton,  threw  themselves  in  their  way,  pretending  to  be 


1781.]  MAD    ANTHONY   IN    A   MORASS.  317 

deserters,  and  informed  them  that  the  body  of  the 
king's  troops  had  passed  James  River  in  the  night,  leav- 
ing nothing  behind  but  the  rear  guard  composed  of 
the  British  legion  and  a  detachment  of  infantry.  Per- 
suaded of  the  fact,  Lafayette  with  his  troops  crossed 
the  morass  on  the  left  of  the  enemy  by  a  narrow 
causeway  of  logs  and  halted  beyond  about  sunset. 
Wayne  was  detached  with  a  body  of  riflemen,  dragoons 
and  continental  infantry  to  make  the  attack,  while  the 
marquis  with  nine  hundred  continentals  and  some  mili- 
tia stood  ready  to  support  him. 

Wayne  easily  routed  a  patrol  of  cavalry  and  drove  in 
the  pickets,  who  had  been  ordered  to  give  way  readily. 
The  outpost  which  covered  the  camp  defended  itself 
more  obstinately ;  though  exceedingly  galled  by  the 
nflemen.  Wayne  pushed  forward  with  the  Pennsylva- 
nia line,  eight  hundred  strong,  9,nd  three  field-pieces,  to 
attack  it ,  at  the  first  discharge  of  a  cannon  more  than 
two  thousand  of  the  enemy  emerged  from  their  con-, 
cealment,  and  he  found  too  late  that  the  whole  British 
line  was  in  battle  array  before  him.  To  retreat  was 
more  dangerous  than  to  go  on.  So  thinking,  with 
that  impetuous  valor  which  had  gained  him  the  name 
of  Mad  Anthony,  he  ordered  a  charge  to  be  sounded, 
and  threw  himself  horse  and  foot  with  shouts  upon  the 
enemy.  It  was  a  sanguinary  conflict  and  a  desperate 
one,  for  the  enemy  were  outflanking  him  right  and  left. 
Fortunately  the  heaviness  of  the  fire  had  awakened  the 
suspicions  of  Lafayette : — it  was  too  strong  for  the  out- 
post of  a  rear-guard.  Spurring  to  a  point  of  land 
which  commanded  a  view  of  the  British  camp,  he 
discovered  the  actual  force  of  the  enemy  and  the  peril 


318  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781 

of  Wayne.  Galloping  back,  he  sent  word  to  'Wayne 
to  fall  back  to  General  Muhlenberg's  bngade,  which 
had  just  arrived,  and  was  forming  within  half  a  mile  of 
the  scene  of  conflict.  Wayne  did  so  in  good  order, 
leaving  behind  him  his  three  cannon ;  the  horses 
which  drew  them  having  been  killed. 

The  whole  army  then  retired  across  the  morass. 
The  enemy's  cavalry  would  have  pursued  them,  but 
Cornwallis  forbade  it.  The  night  was  falling.  The 
hardihood  of  Wayne's  attack,  and  his  sudden  retreat, 
it  is  said,  deceived  and  perplexed  his  lordship.  He 
thought  the  Americans  more  strong  than  they  really 
were,  and  the  retreat  a  mere  feint  to  draw  him  into 
an  ambuscade.  That  retreat,  if  followed  close,  might 
have  been  converted  into  a  disastrous  flight. 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  this  brief  but  severe 
conflict  is  stated  by  Lafayette  to  have  been  one  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners,  in- 
cluding ten  officers.  The  British  loss  was  said  to  be 
five  officers  wounded  and  seventy-five  privates  killed 
and  wounded.  "Our  field  officers,"  said  Wayne, 
"were  generally  dismounted  by  having  their  horses 
either  killed  or  wounded  under  them.  I  will  not  con- 
dole with  the  Marquis  for  the  loss  of  two  of  his,  as  he 
was  frequently  requested  to  keep  at  a  greater  distance. 
His  natural  bravery  rendered  him  deaf  to  admonition." 

Lafayette  retreated  to  Green  Springs,  where  he 
rallied  and  reposed  his  troops.  Cornwallis  crossed  over 
to  Jamestown  Island  after  dark,  and  three  days  after- 
wards, passing  James  River  with  his  main  force,  pro- 
ceeded to  Portsmouth.  His  object  was  in  conformity 
to  his  instructions  from  the  ministry,  to  establish  there 


1781.]  Lafayette's  account  op  his  campaign.    319 

or  elsewhere  on  the  Chesapeake,  a  permanent  post,  to 
serve  as  a  central  point  for  naval  and  military  opera- 
tions. 

In  his  letters  to  Washington  giving  an  account  of 
these  events  Lafayette  says  :  "  I  am  anxious  to  know 
your  opinion  of  the  Virginian  campaign.  The  subju- 
gation of  this  State  was  incontestably  the  prmcipal 
object  of  the  ministry  I  think  your  diversion  has 
been  of  more  use  than  any  of  my  manoeuvres  ;  but  the 
latter  have  been  above  all  directed  by  political  views. 
As  long  as  his  lordship  desired  an  action,  not  a  musket 
has  been  fired  ,  the  moment  he  would  avoid  a  combat 
we  began  a  war  of  skirmishes ,  but  I  had  always  care 
not  to  compromise  the  army  The  naval  supenority 
of  the  enemy,  his  superiority  in  cavalry,  in  regular 
troops,  and  his  thousand  other  advantages,  make  me 
consider  myself  lucky  to  have  come  off  safe  and  sound. 
I  had  my  eye  fixed  on  negotiations  m  Europe,  and  I 
made  it  my  aim  to  give  his  lordship  the  disgrace  of  a 
retreat."  * 

We  will  now  turn  to  resume  the  course  of  General 
Greene's  campaigning  m  the  Carolinas. 

*  Memoires  de  Lafayette,  t.  i.  p.  445. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

OREEXE^S  BETBOOBA.f>E  OPEEATION  IN  SOUTH  OAEOLINA — APPEAB8  BB- 
FOEE  CAMDEN — AFFAIE  AT  HOBOEK's  HILL — EAWDON  ABANDONS 
CAMDEN — EAPID  SrOOESSES  OF  THE  AMERICANS — GEEENE's  ATTACK:  ON 
THE  FOETRESS  OF  NINETY  SIX — 0PEEATI0N8  AGAINST  LORD  EAWDON — 
GEEENE  ON  THE  HIGH  HILLS  OF  8ANTEE — SUMTER  SOOUES  THE  LOWER 
COUNTET — ^DASH  OF  COLONEL  WADE  HAMPTON  AT  THE  GATES  OF 
CHAELESTON — EXPLOITS   OF   LEE    AND   HAMPTON — OF    CAPTAIN    AEM- 

STEONG    AT    QUIMBT    BEIDOE — ACTION  IN   THE   NEIGHBOBHOOD END 

OP  THE  CAMPAIGN'. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  Greene,  on  the  5th  of 
April,  set  out  from  Deep  River  on  a  retrograde  march  to 
carry  the  war  again  into  South  Carohna,  beginnmg  by 
an  attack  on  Lord  Rawdon's  post  at  Camden.  Sum- 
ter and  Marion  had  been  keeping  alive  the  revolution- 
ary fire  in  that  State ;  the  former  on  the  north-east 
frontier,  the  latter  in  his  favorite  fighting  ground  be- 
tween the  Pedee  and  Santee  Rivers.  On  the  re-appear- 
ance of  Greene  they  stood  ready  to  aid  him  with  heart 
and  hand. 

On  his  way  to  Camden,  Greene  detached  Lee  to 
join  Marion  with  his  legion,  and  make  an  attack  upon 
Fort  Watson  by  way  of  diversion.  Por  himself,  'he 
appeared  before  Camden,  but  finding  it  too  strong  and 
too  well  garrisoned,  fell  back  about  two  miles,  and  took 


1781.]  AFFAIR   AT   HOBKIRK's   HILL.  321 

post  at  Hobkirk's  Hill,  hoping  to  draw  his  lordship  out. 
He  succeeded  but  too  well.  His  lordship  attacked  him 
on  the  25th  of  April,  coming  upon  him  partly  by  sur- 
prise. There  was  a  hard- fought  battle,  but  tlirough 
some  false  move  among  part  of  his  troops,  Greene  was 
obliged  to  retreat.  His  lordship  did  not  pursue,  but 
shut  himself  up  in  Camden,  waiting  to  be  rejoined  by 
part  of  his  garrison  which  was  absent. 

Greene  posted  himself  near  Camden  ferry  on  the  Wa- 
teree  to  intercept  these  reinforcements.  Lee  and  Marion, 
who  had  succeeded  in  capturing  Fort  Watson,  also  took 
a  position  on  the  high  hills  of  Santee  for  the  same  pur- 
pose. Their  efforts  were  unavailing.  Lord  Rawdon 
was  rejoined  by  the  other  part  of  his  troops.  His  su- 
perior force  now  threatened  to  give  him  the  mastery. 
Greene  felt  the  hazardous  nature  of  his  situation.  His 
troops  were  fatigued  by  their  long  marchings ,  he  was 
disappointed  of  promised  aid  and  reinforcements  from 
Virginia ;  still  he  was  undismayed,  and  prepared  for 
another  of  his  long  and  stubborn  retreats.  "  We  must 
always  operate,"  said  he,  "  on  the  maxim  that  your 
enemy  will  do  what  he  ought  to  do.  Lord  Rawdon 
will  push  us  back  to  the  mountains,  but  we  will  dispute 
every  inch  of  ground  in  the  best  manner  we  can." 
Such  were  his  words  to  General  Davie  on  the  evening 
of  the  9th  of  May,  as  he  sat  in  his  tent  with  a  map  be- 
fore him  studying  the  roads  and  fastnesses  of  the  country. 
An  express  was  to  set  off  for  Philadelphia  the  next 
morning,  and  he  requested  General  Davie,  who  was  of 
that  city,  to  write  to  the  members  of  Congress  with 
whom  he  was  acquainted,  painting  in  the  strongest 
colors  their  situation  and  gloomy  prospects.. 

VOL.  IV. — 21 


323  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

The  very  next  morning  there  was  a  joyful  reverse. 
Greene  sent  for  General  Davie.  **  Rawdon,"  cried  lie 
exultingly,  "  is  preparing  to  evacuate  Camden ;  that 
place  was  the  key  of  the  enemy's  line  of  posts,  they  will 
now  all  fall  or  be  evacuated  ;  all  will  now  go  well.  Burn 
your  letters.  I  shall  march  immediately  to  the  Con- 
garee." 

His  lordship  had  heard  of  the  march  of  Comwallis 
into  Virginia,  and  that  all  hope  of  aid  from  him  was 
at  an  end.  His  garrison  was  out  of  provisions.  All 
supplies  were  cut  off  by  the  Americans ,  he  had  no 
choice  but  to  evacuate.  He  left  Camden  m  flames. 
Immense  quantities  of  stores  and  baggage  were  con- 
sumed, together  with  the  court-house,  the  gaol,  and 
many  private  houses. 

Rapid  successes  now  attended  the  American  arms. 
Fort  Motte,  the  middle  post  between  Camden  and 
Ninety  Six,  was  taken  by  Marion  and  Lee.  Lee  next 
captured  Granby,  and  marched  to  aid  Pickens  in  the 
siege  of  Augusta;  while  Greene,  having  acquired  a 
supply  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  provisions,  from  the 
captured  forts,  sat  down  before  the  fortress  of  Ninety 
Six,  on  the  22d  of  May.  It  was  the  great  mart  and 
stronghold  of  the  royalists,  and  was  principally  garri- 
soned by  royalists  from  New  Jersey  and  New  York, 
commanded  by  Colonel  Cruger,  a  native  of  New  York. 
The  siege  lasted  for  nearly  a  month.  The  place  was 
valiantly  defended.  Lee  arrived  with  his  legion,  having 
failed  before  Augusta,  and  invested  a  stockaded  fort 
which  formed  part  of  the  works. 

Word  was  brought  that  Lord  Rawdon  was  pressing 
forward  with  reinforcements,  and  but  a  few  miles  dis- 


1781.]  ATTACK   ON   FORT  NINETY   SIX.  323 

tant  on  the  Saluda.  Greene  endeavored  to  get  np 
Sumter,  Marion,  and  Pickens,  to  Lis  assistance,  but 
they  were  too  far  on  the  right  of  Lord  Rawdon  to  form 
a  junction.  The  troops  were  eager  to  storm  the  works 
before  his  lordship  should  arrive.  A  partial  assault 
was  made  on  the  18th  of  June.  It  was  a  bloody  con- 
test. The  stockaded  fort  was  taken,  but  the  troops 
were  repulsed  from  the  main  works. 

Greene  retreated  across  the  Saluda,  and  halted  at 
Bush  River,  at  twenty  miles  distance,  to  observe  the 
motion  of  the  enemy.  In  a  letter  thence  to  Washing- 
ton, he  writes :  "  My  fears  are  principally  from  the 
enemy's  superior  cavalry.  To  the  northward  cavalry  is 
nothing,  from  the  numerous  fences  ;  but  to  the  southward 
a  disorder,  by  a  superior  cavalry  may  be  improved  into 
a  defeat,  and  a  defeat  into  a  rout.  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina  could  not  be  brought  to  consider  cavalry  of 
such  great  importance  as  they  are  to  the  security  of  the 
army  and  the  safety  of  a  country  " 

Lord  Rawdon  entered  Ninety  Six  on  the  21st,  but 
saUied  forth  again  on  the  24th,  taking  with  him  all  the 
troops  capable  of  fatigue,  two  thousand  in  number, 
without  wheel  carriage  of  any  kind,  or  even  knapsacks, 
hopmg  by  a  rapid  move  to  overtake  Greene.  Want  of 
provisions  soon  obliged  him  to  give  up  the  pursuit  and 
return  to  Ninety  Six.  Leaving  about  one  half  of  his 
force  there,  under  Colonel  Cruger,  he  saUied  a  second 
time  from  Ninety  Six,  at  the  head  of  eleven  hundred 
infantry,  with  cavalry,  artillery,  and  field-pieces,  march- 
ing by  the  south  side  of  the  Saluda  for  the  Congaree. 

He  was  now  pursued  in  his  turn  by  Greene  and 
Lee.     In  this  march  more  than  fifty  of  his  lordship's 


324  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

soldiers  fell  dead  from  heat,  fatigue  and  privation.  At 
Orangeburg,  where  he  arrived  on  the  8th  of  July,  his 
lordship  was  joined  by  a  large  detachment  under  Colo- 
nel Stuart. 

Greene  had  followed  him  closely,  and  having  col- 
lected all  his  detachments,  and  being  joined  by  Sumter, 
appeared  within  four  miles  of  Orangeburg,  on  the  10th 
of  July,  and  offered  battle.  The  offer  was  not  accepted, 
and  the  position  of  Lord  Rawdon  was  too  strong  to  be 
attacked.  Greene  remained  there  two  or  three  days , 
when,  learning  that  Colonel  Cruger  was  advancing  with 
the  residue  of  the  forces  from  Ninety  Six,  which  would 
again  give  his  lordship  a  superiority  of  force,  he  moved 
off  with  his  infantry  on  the  night  of  the  13th  of  July, 
crossed  the  Saluda,  and  posted  himself  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Wateree,  at  the  high  hills  of  Santee.  In  this  sa- 
lubrious and  delightful  region,  where  the  air  was  pure 
and  breezy,  and  the  water  delicate,  he  allowed  his  wea- 
ry soldiers  to  repose  and  refresh  themselves,  awaiting 
the  arrival  of  some  continental  troops  and  militia  from 
North  Carolina,  when  he  intended  to  resume  his  enter- 
prise of  driving  the  enemy  from  the  interior  of  the 
country. 

At  the  time  when  he  moved  from  the  neighborhood 
of  Orangeburg,  (July  13th,)  he  detached  Sumter  with 
about  a  thousand  hght  troops  to  scour  the  lower  country, 
and  attack  the  British  posts  in  the  vicinity  of  Charles- 
ton, now  left  uncovered  by  the  concentration  of  their 
forces  at  Orangeburg,  Under  Sumter  acted  Marion, 
Lee,  the  Hamptons,  and  other  enterprising  partisans. 
They  were  to  act  separately  in  breaking  up  the  minor 
posts,  at  and  about  Dorchester,  but  to  unite  at  Monk's 


1T81.]   EXPLOITS  OP  SUMTER,  LEE  AND  HAMPTON.      325 

Corner,  where  Lieutenant-colonel  Coates  was  stationed 
with  the  ninth  regiment.  This  post  carried,  they  were 
to  reunite  with  Greene's  army  on  the  high  hills  of 
Santee. 

Scarce  was  Sumter  on  his  march  when  he  received 
a  letter  from  Greene  dated  July  14th,  stating  that  Cru- 
ger  had  formed  a  junction  with  Lord  Rawdon  the  pre- 
ceding night;  no  time  therefore  was  to  be  lost.  "  Push 
your  operations  night  and  day ,  station  a  party  to  watch 
the  enemy's  motions  at  Orangeburg.  Keep  Colonel 
Lee  and  General  Marion  advised  of  all  matters  from 
above,  and  tell  Colonel  Lee,  to  thunder  even  at  the 
gates  of  Charleston." 

Conformably  to  these  orders,  Colonel  Henry  Hamp- 
ton with  a  party  was  posted  to  keep  an  eye  on  Orange- 
burg. Lee  with  his  legion,  accompanied  by  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Wade  Hampton,  and  a  detachment  of  cavalry, 
was  sent  to  carry  Dorchester,  and  then  press  forward 
to  the  gates  of  Charleston ;  while  Sumter  with  the  main 
body,  took  up  his  line  of  march  along  the  road  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Congaree,  towards  Monk's  Comer. 

As  Lee  approached  Dorchester,  Colonel  Wade 
Hampton,  with  his  cavalry,  passed  to  the  east  of  that 
place,  to  a  bridge  on  Goose  Creek,  to  cut  off  all  com- 
munication between  the  garrison  and  Monk's  Corner. 
His  sudden  appearance  gave  the  alarm,  the  garrison 
abandoned  its  post,  and  when  Lee  arrived  there  he 
found  it  deserted.  He  proceeded  to  secure  a  number 
of  horses  and  waggons,  and  some  fixed  ammunition, 
which  the  garrison  had  left  behind,  and  to  send  them 
off  to  Hampton.  Hampton,  kept  in  suspense  bv  this 
delay,  lost  patience.     He  feared  that  the  alarm  would 


326  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

spread  through  the  country,  and  the  dash  into  the  vici- 
nity of  Charleston  be  prevented — or  perhaps  that  Lee 
might  intend  to  make  it  by  himself.  Abandoning  the 
bridge  at  Goose  Creek,  therefore,  he  set  off  with  his 
cavalry,  clattered  down  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  Imes 
and  threw  the  city  into  confusion.  The  bells  rang, 
alarm  guns  were  fired,  the  citizens  turned  out  under 
arms.  Hampton  captured  a  patrol  of  dragoons  and  a 
guard,  at  the  Quarter  House ,  completed  his  bravado 
by  parading  his  cavalry  m  sight  of  the  sentinels  on  the 
advanced  works,  and  then  retired,  carrying  off  fifty  pri- 
soners, several  of  them  officers. 

Lee  arrived  in  the  neighborhood  on  the  following 
day,  but  too  late  to  wm  any  laurels.  Hampton  had 
been  beforehand  with  him,  made  the  dash,  and  "  thun- 
dered at  the  gate."  Both  now  hastened  to  rejom  Sum- 
ter on  the  evening  of  the  16th,  who  was  only  waiting 
to  collect  his  detachments,  before  he  made  an  attack  on 
Colonel  Coates  at  Monk's  Corner.  The  assault  was  to 
be  made  on  the  following  morning  During  the  night 
Coates  decamped  in  silence ;  the  first  signal  of  his  de- 
parture, was  the  bursting  of  flames  through  the  roof  of 
a  brick  church,  which  he  had  used  as  a  magazine,  and 
which  contained  stores  that  could  not  be  carried  away. 
A  pursuit  was  commenced ;  Lee  with  his  legion,  and 
Hampton  with  the  State  cavalry  took  the  lead.  Sum- 
ter followed  with  the  infantry.  The  rear-guard  of  the 
British,  about  one  hundred  strong,  was  overtaken  with 
the  baggage,  at  the  distance  of  eighteen  miles.  They 
were  new  troops,  recently  arrived  from  Ireland,  and  had 
not  seen  service.  On  being  charged  by  the  cavaliy 
sword  in  hand,  they  threw  down  their  arms  without  fir- 


1781.]  EXPLOITS    OF    SUMTER,  LEE  AND  HAMPTON.       327 

ing  a  shot,  and  cried  for  quarter,  which  was  granted. 
While  Lee  was  securing  them,  Captain  Armstrong  with 
the  first  section  of  cavaby  pushed  on  in  pursuit  of 
Coates  and  the  main  body.  That  officer  had  crossed  a 
wooden  bridge  over  Quimby  Creek,  loosened  the  planks, 
and  was  only  waiting  to  be  rejoined  by  his  rear-guard, 
to  throw  them  off,  and  cut  off  all  pursuit.  His  troops 
were  partly  on  a  causeway  beyond  the  bridge,  partly 
crowded  in  a  lane.  He  had  heard  no  alarm  guns,  and 
knew  nothing  of  an  enemy  being  at  hand,  until  he  saw 
Armstrong  spurring  up  with  his  section.  Coates  gave 
orders  for  his  troops  to  halt,  form,  and  march  up ,  a 
howitzer  was  brought  to  bear  upon  the  bridge,  and  a 
fatigue  party  rushed  forward  to  throw  off  the  planks, 
Armstrong  saw  the  danger,  dashed  across  the  bridge 
vrith  his  section,  drove  off  the  artillerists,  and  captured 
the  howitzer  before  it  could  be  discharged.  The  fatigue 
men,  who  had  been  at  work  on  the  bridge,  snatched  up 
their  guns,  gave  a  volley  and  fled.  Two  dragoons  fell 
dead  by  the  howitzer ;  others  were  severely  wounded. 
Armstrong's  party  in  crossing  the  bridge  had  displaced 
some  of  the  planks,  and  formed  a  chasm.  Lieutenant 
Carrington  with  the  second  section  of  dragoons  leaped 
over  it ;  the  chasm  being  thus  enlarged  the  horses  of 
the  third  section  refused.  A  pell-mell  fight  took  place 
between  the  handful  of  dragoons  who  had  crossed,  and 
some  of  the  enemy.  Armstrong  and  Carrington  were 
engaged  hand  to  hand  with  Colonel  Coates  and  his  offi- 
cers, who  defended  themselves  from  behind  a  waggon. 
The  troops  were  thronging  to  their  aid  from  lane  and 
causeway.  Armstrong,  seeing  the  foe  too  strong  in 
front,  and  no  reinforcement  coming  on  in  rear,  wheeled 


328  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

off  with  some  of  his  men  to  the  left,  galloped  into  the 
woods,  and  pushed  up  along  the  stream  to  ford  it, 
and  seek  the  main  body. 

Durmg  the  melee  Lee  had  come  up  and  endeavored 
with  the  dragoons  of  the  third  section  to  replace  the 
planks  of  the  bridge.  Their  efforts  were  vain ,  the 
water  was  deep,  the  mud  deeper ,  there  was  no  foot- 
hold, nor  was  there  any  firm  spot  where  to  swim  the 
horses  across. 

While  they  were  thus  occupied.  Colonel  Coates, 
with  his  men,  opened  a  fire  upon  them  from  the  other 
end  of  the  bridge  ;  having  no  fire  arms  to  reply  with, 
they  were  obliged  to  retire.  The  remainder  of  the 
planks  were  then  thrown  off  from  the  bridge,  after 
which  Colonel  Coates  took  post  on  an  adjacent  planta- 
tion, made  the  dwelling-house,  which  stood  on  a  rising 
ground,  his  citadel,  planted  the  howitzer  before  it,  and 
distributed  part  of  his  men  in  outhouses  and  within 
fences,  and  garden  pickets,  which  sheltered  them  from 
the  attack  of  cavalry.  Here  he  awaited  the  arrival  of 
Sumter  with  the  main  body,  determined  to  make  a  des- 
perate defence. 

It  was  not  until  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  that 
Sumter  with  his  forces  appeared  upon  the  ground, 
having  had  to  make  a  considerable  circuit  on  account  of 
the  destruction  of  the  bridge. 

By  four  o'clock  the  attack  commenced.  Sumter, 
with  part  of  the  troops,  advanced  in  front  unler  cover 
of  a  line  of  negro  huts,  which  he  wished  to  secure. 
Marion,  with  his  brigade,  much  reduced  in  number, 
approached  on  the  right  of  the  enemy,  where  there  was 
no  shelter  but  fences  ;   the  cavalry,  not  being  able  to 


1781.]    BOLD  STAND  OF  COLONEL  COATES.      329 

act,  remained  at  a  distance  as  a  reserve,  and,  if  neces- 
sary to  cover  a  retreat. 

Sumter's  brigade  soon  got  possession  of  the  huts, 
where  they  used  their  rifles  with  sure  effect.  Marion 
and  his  men  rushed  up  through  a  galhng  fire  to  the 
fences  on  the  right.  The  enemy  retired  within  the 
house  and  garden,  and  kept  up  a  sharp  fire  from  doors 
and  wmdows  and  picketed  fence.  Unfortunately  the 
Americans  had  neglected  to  bring  on  their  artillery ; 
their  rifles  and  muskets  were  not  sufficient  to  force  the 
enemy  from  his  stronghold.  Having  repaired  the 
bridge,  they  sent  off  for  the  artillery  and  a  supply  of 
powder,  which  accompanied  it.  The  evening  was  at 
hand ;  their  ammunition  was  exhausted,  and  they  retired 
in  good  order,  intending  to  renew  the  combat  with  ar- 
tillery in  the  morning.  Leaving  the  cavalry  to  watch 
and  control  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  they  drew  off 
across  Quimby  Bridge,  and  encamped  at  the  distance  of 
three  miles. 

Here,  when  they  came  to  compare  notes,  it  was 
found  that  the  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  had  chiefly 
fallen  on  Marion's  corps.  His  men,  from  their  exposed 
situation,  had  borne  the  brunt  of  the  battle ,  while 
Sumter's  had  suffered  but  little,  being  mostly  sheltered 
in  the  huts.  Jealousy  and  distrust  were  awakened,  and 
discord  reigned  in  the  camp.  Partisan  and  volunteer 
troops  readily  fall  asunder  under  such  circumstances. 
Many  moved  off  in  the  night.  Lee,  accustomed  to  act 
independently,  and  unwilling,  perhaps,  to  acknowledge 
Sumter  as  his  superior  officer,  took  up  his  line  of  march 
for  head-quarters  without  consulting  him.  Sumter  still 
had  force  enough,  now  that  he  was  joined  by  the  ar- 


330  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

tillery  to  have  held  the  enemy  in  a  state  of  siege ;  but 
he  was  short  of  ammunition,  only  twenty  miles  from 
Charleston,  at  a  place  accessible  by  tide  water,  and  he 
apprehended  the  approach  of  Lord  Rawdon,  who,  it 
was  said,  was  movmg  down  from  Orangeburg.  He 
therefore  retired  across  the  Santee,  and  rejoined  Greene 
at  his  encampment. 

So  ended  this  foray,  which  fell  far  short  of  the  ex- 
pectations formed  from  the  spirit  and  activity  of  the 
leaders  and  their  men.  Various  errors  have  been 
pomted  out  in  their  operations,  but  concerted  schemes 
are  rarely  carried  out  in  all  their  parts  by  partisan 
troops.  One  of  the  best  effects  of  the  incursion  was  the 
drawing  down  Lord  Rawdon  from  Orangeburg  with  five 
hundred  of  his  troops.  He  returned  no  more  to  the 
upper  country,  but  sailed  not  long  after  from  Charles- 
ton for  Europe. 

Colonel  Stuart,  who  was  left  in  command  at  Orange- 
burg, moved  forward  from  that  place,  and  encamped  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Congaree  River,  near  its  junction 
with  the  Wateree,  and  within  sixteen  miles  of  Greene's 
position  on  the  high  hills  of  Santee.  The  two  armies 
lay  in  sight  of  each  other's  fires,  but  two  large  rivers 
intervened,  to  secure  each  party  from  sudden  attack. 
Both  armies,  however,  needed  repose,  and  military  op- 
erations were  suspended,  as  if  by  mutual  consent,  dur- 
ing the  sultry  summer  heat. 

The  campaign  had  been  a  severe  and  trying  one, 
and  checkered  with  vicissitudes ;  but  Greene  had  suc- 
ceeded in  regaining  the  greater  part  of  Georgia  and  the 
two  Carolinas,  and,  as  he  said,  only  wanted  a  Uttle  as- 
sistance from  the  North  to  complete  their  recovery. 


1T81.]  LETTER   OF    WASHINGTON.  331 

He  was  soon  rejoiced  by  a  letter  from  Washington,  in- 
forming him  that  a  detachment  from  the  army  of  La- 
fayette might  be  expected  to  bring  him  the  required 
assistance ;  but  he  was  made  still  more  happy  by  the 
following  cordial  passage  in  the  letter :  "  It  is  with  the 
warmest  pleasure  I  express  my  full  approbation  of  the 
various  movements  and  operations  which  your  military 
conduct  has  lately  exhibited,  while  I  confess  to  you 
that  I  am  unable  to  conceive  what  more  could  have 
been  done  under  your  circumstances  than  has  been  dis- 
played by  your  little,  persevering,  and  determined  army." 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

WASniNGTOX  DISAPPOINTED  AS  TO  EKINFOBCEMENTS — FBENCH  ABMA- 
MENT  DESTINED  FOU  THE  CHESAPEAKE — ATTEMPTS  ON  NEW  TORE 
POSTPONED — MAECa  OF  THE  AE1IIE8  TO  THE  CHESAPEAKE — STEATA- 
GEMS  TO  DECEIVE  THE  EXEMT — ARNOLD  RAVAGES  NEW  tONDON — 
WASHINGTON  AT  PHILADELPHIA — MARCH  OF  THE  TWO  ARMIES  THROUGH 
THE  CITY — CORNWALLIS  AT  TORKTOWN — PREPARATIONS  TO  PROCEED 
AGAINST  HIM — VISIT  TO  MOUNT  VERNON. 

After  the  grand  reconnoissance  of  the  posts  on  New 
York  Island,  related  in  a  former  page,  the  confederate 
armies  remained  encamped  about  Dobbs  Ferry  and  the 
Greenburg  hUls,  awaiting  an  augmentation  of  force  for 
then:  meditated  attack.  To  Washmgton's  great  disap- 
pointment, his  army  was  but  tardily  and  scantily  re- 
crmted,  while  the  garrison  of  New  York  was  augmented 
by  the  arrival  of  three  thousand  Hessian  troops  from 
Europe.  In  this  predicament  he  despatched  a  circular 
letter  to  the  governments  of  the  Eastern  States,  repre- 
senting his  delicate  and  embarrassed  situation.  "  Un- 
able to  advance  with  prudence  beyond  my  present  po- 
sition," writes  he,  "  while,  perhaps,  in  the  general  opin- 
ion, my  force  is  equal  to  the  commencement  of  opera- 
tions against  New  York,  my  conduct  must  appear,  if 
not  blamable,  highly  mysterious  at  least.     Our  alhes, 


1781.]         EMBARRASSMENTS    OF   WASHINGTON.  333 

who  were  made  to  expect  a  very  considerable  augmen- 
tation of  force  by  this  time,  mstead  of  seemg  a  prospect 
of  advancmg,  must  conjecture,  upon  good  grounds,  that 
the  campaign  will  waste  fruitlessly  away.  It  will  be 
no  small  degree  of  triumph  to  our  enemies,  and  will 
have  a  pernicious  influence  upon  our  friends  in  Europe, 
should  they  find  such  a  failure  of  resource,  or  such 
a  want  of  energy  to  draw  it  out,  that  our  boasted  and 
extensive  preparations  end  only  m  idle  parade.  *  * 
The  fulfilment  of  my  engagements  must  depend  upon 
the  degree  of  vigor  with  which  the  executives  of  the 
several  States  exercise  the  powers  with  which  they  have 
been  vested,  and  enforce  the  laws  lately  passed  for  fill- 
ing up  and  supplying  the  army  In  full  confidence 
that  the  means  which  have  been  voted  wiU  be  obtained, 
I  shall  continue  my  operations  " 

Until  we  study  Washington's  full,  perspicuous 
letters,  we  know  little  of  the  difficulties  he  had  to 
struggle  with  in  conducting  his  campaigns  ,  how  often 
the  sounding  resolves  of  legislative  bodies  disappointed 
him ;  how  often  he  had  to  maintain  a  bold  front  when 
his  country  failed  to  back  him ;  how  often,  as  in  the 
siege  of  Boston,  he  had  to  carry  on  the  war  without 
powder ! 

In  a  few  days  came  letters  from  Lafayette,  dated 
26th  and  30th  of  July,  speaking  of  the  embarkation  of 
the  greatest  part  of  Comwallis's  army  at  Portsmouth. 
"  There  are  in  Hampton  Roads  thirty  transport  ships  full 
of  troops,  most  of  them  red  coats,  and  eight  or  ten 
brigs  with  cavalry  on  board."  He  supposed  their  des- 
tination to  be  New  York,  yet,  though  wind  and  weather 
were  favorable,  they  did  not  sail.     "  Should  a  Prench 


334  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

fleet  now  come  into  Hampton  Roads,"  adds  the  sanguine 
Marquis,"  the  British  army  would,  I  think,  be  ours." 

At  this  juncture  arrived  the  French  frigate  Con- 
corde at  Newport,  bringing  despatches  from  Admiral 
the  Count  de  Grasse.  He  was  to  leave  St.  Domingo 
on  the  3d  of  August,  with  between  twenty-five  and 
thirty  ships  of  the  line,  and  a  considerable  body  of  land 
forces,  and  to  steer  immediately  for  the  Chesapeake. 

This  changed  the  face  of  affairs,  and  called  for  a 
change  in  the  game.  All  attempt  upon  New  York  was 
postponed ;  the  whole  of  the  French  army,  and  as  large 
a  part  of  the  Americans  as  could  be  spared,  were  to 
move  to  Virginia,  and  co-operate  with  the  Count  de 
Grasse  for  the  redemption  of  the  Southern  States. 
Washington  apprised  the  Count  by  letter  of  this  inten- 
tion. He  wrote  also  to  Lafayette  on  the  15th  of 
August,  "  By  the  time  this  reaches  you,  the  Count  de 
Grasse  will  either  be  in  the  Chesapeake  or  may  be 
looked  for  every  moment.  Under  these  circumstances, 
whether  the  enemy  remain  in  full  force,  or  whether  they 
have  only  a  detachment  left,  you  will  immediately  take 
such  a  position  as  wiU  best  enable  you  to  prevent  their 
sudden  retreat  through  North  Carohna,  which,  I  pre- 
sume they  will  attempt  the  instant  they  perceive  so  for- 
midable an  armament." 

Should  General  Wayne,  with  the  troops  destined 
for  South  Carolina,  still  remain  in  the  neighborhood  of 
James  River,  and  the  enemy  have  made  no  detachment 
to  the  southward,  the  Marquis  was  to  detain  these 
troops  until  he  heard  again  from  Washington,  and  was 
to  inform  General  Greene  of  the  cause  of  their  deten- 
tion. 


1T81.]  CHANGE   OF   THE   GAME.  335 

"  You  shall  hear  further  from  me,"  concludes  the 
letter,  "  as  soon  as  I  have  concerted  plans  and  formed 
dispositions  for  sending  a  reinforcement  from  hence. 
In  the  mean  time,  I  have  only  to  recommend  a  continu- 
ance of  that  prudence  and  good  conduct  which  you 
have  manifested  through  the  whole  of  your  campaign. 
You  will  be  particularly  careful  to  conceal  the  expected 
arrival  of  the  Count ;  because,  if  the  enemy  are  not  ap- 
prised of  it,  they  will  stay  on  board  their  transports  in 
the  bay,  which  will  be  the  luckiest  circumstance  in  the 
world." 

Washington's  "  soul  was  now  in  arms."  At  length, 
after  being  baffled  and  disappointed  so  often  by  the  in- 
competency of  his  means,  and  above  all,  thwarted  by 
the  enemy's  naval  potency,  he  had  the  possibility  of 
coping  with  them  both  on  land  and  sea.  The  contem- 
plated expedition  was  hkely  to  consummate  his  plans, 
and  wind  up  the  fortunes  of  the  war,  and  he  determined 
to  lead  it  in  person.  He  would  take  with  him  some- 
thing more  than  two  thousand  of  the  American  army  ; 
the  rest,  chiefly  northern  troops,  were  to  remain  with 
General  Heath,  who  was  to  hold  command  of  West 
Point  and  the  other  posts  of  the  Hudson. 

Perfect  secrecy  was  maintained  as  to  this  change 
of  plan.  Preparations  were  stiU  carried  on,  as  if  for 
an  attack  upon  New  York.  An  extensive  encampment 
was  marked  out  in  the  Jerseys,  and  ovens  erected,  and 
fuel  provided  for  the  baking  of  bread ;  as  if  a  part  of 
the  besieging  force  was  to  be  stationed  there,  thence  to 
make  a  descent  upon  the  enemy's  garrison  on  Staten 
Island,  in  aid  of  the  operations  against  the  city.  The 
American  troops,  themselves,  were  kept  in  ignorance  of 


336  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

their  destination.  General  Washington,  observes  one  of 
the  shrewdest  of  them,  matures  his  great  plans  and  de-. 
signs  under  an  impenetrable  veil  of  secrecy,  and  while  we 
repose  the  fullest  confidence  in  our  chief,  our  opinions 
(as  to  his  intentions)  must  be  founded  only  on  doubtful 
conjecture.* 

Previous  to  his  decampment,  Washington  sent  for- 
ward a  party  of  pioneers  to  clear  the  roads  towards 
King's  Bridge,  as  if  the  posts  recently  reconnoitred 
were  about  to  be  attempted.  On  the  19th  of  August 
his  troops  Avere  paraded  with  their  faces  in  that  du-ec- 
tion.  When  all  were  ready,  however,  they  were  ordered 
to  face  about,  and  were  marched  up  along  the  Hudson 
river  road  towards  King's  Ferry. 

De  Rochambeau,  in  like  manner,  broke  up  his  en- 
campment, and  took  the  road  by  White  Plains,  North 
Castle,  Pine's  Bridge,  and  Crompond,  toward  the  same 
point.  All  Westchester  County  was  again  alive  with 
the  tramp  of  troops,  the  gleam  of  arms,  and  the  lum- 
bering of  artillery  and  baggage  waggons  along  its 
roads. 

On  the  20th,  Washington  arrived  at  King's  Ferry, 
and  his  troops  began  to  cross  the  Hudson  with  their 
baggage,  stores,  and  cannon,  and  encamp  at  Haver- 
straw.  He  himself  crossed  in  the  evening,  and  took 
up  his  quarters  at  Colonel  Hay's,  at  the  White  House. 
Thence  he  wrote  confidentially  to  Lafayette  on  the  21st, 
now  first  apprising  him  of  his  being  on  the  marcli  with 
the  expedition,  and  repeating  his  injunctions  that  the 
land  and  naval  forces,  already  at  the  scene  of  action, 

*  See  Thacbei'i  Militaiy  Journal,  p.  322. 


1781.]  MOVE   TOWARD   VIRGINIA.  337 

should  so  combine  their  operations,  that  the  EngUsh,  on 
the  arrival  of  the  French  fleet,  might  not  be  able  to  es- 
cape. He  wrote  also  to  the  Count  de  Grasse,  (presum- 
ing that  the  letter  would  find  him  m  the  Chesapeake,) 
urging  him  to  send  vip  all  his  frigates  and  transports 
to  the  Head  of  Elk,  by  the  8th  of  September,  for  the 
transportation  of  the  combined  army,  which  would  be 
there  by  that  time.  He  mformed  him,  also,  that  the 
Count  de  Barras  had  resolved  to  join  him  in  the  Chesa- 
peake with  his  squadron.  One  is  reminded  of  the  tis- 
sue of  movements  planned  from  a  distance,  which  end- 
ed in  the  capture  of  Burgoyne. 

On  the  22d,  the  French  troops  arrived  by  their  cir- 
cuitous route,  and  began  to  cross  to  Stony  Point  with 
their  artillery,  baggage,  and  stores.  The  operation  oc- 
cupied between  two  and  three  days  ;  during  which  time 
Washington  took  the  Count  de  Bochambeau  on  a  visit 
to  West  Point,  to  show  him  the  citadel  of  the  High- 
lands, an  object  of  intense  interest,  in  consequence  of 
having  been  the  scene  of  Arnold's  treason. 

The  two  armies  having  safely  crossed  the  Hudson, 
commenced  on  the  25th,  their  several  lines  of  march 
towards  the  Jerseys ,  the  Americans  for  Springfield  on 
the  Rahway,  the  French  for  Whippany  towards  Trenton. 
Both  armies  were  stiU  kept  in  the  dark,  as  to  the  ulti- 
mate object  of  their  movement.  An  intelligent  observer, 
already  quoted,  who  accompanied  the  army,  writes : 
"  Our  situation  reminds  me  of  some  theatrical  exhibition, 
where  the  interest  and  expectations  of  the  spectators  are 
continually  increasing,  and  where  curiosity  is  wrought 
to  the  highest  point.     Our  destination  has  been  for 

some  time  matter  of  perplexing  doubt  and  uncertainty; 
VOL.  IV. — ^22 


338  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1T81. 

bets  have  run  high  on  one  side,  that  we  were  to  occupy 
the  ground  marked  out  on  the  Jersey  shore,  to  aid  in 
the  siege  of  New  York ;  and  on  the  other,  that  we  are 
steaUng  a  march  on  the  enemy,  and  are  actually  des- 
tined to  Virginia,  in  pursuit  of  the  army  under  Comwal- 
Ijg  *  *  *  *  ^  number  of  bateaux  mounted  on 
carriages  have  followed  in  our  train ;  supposed  for  the 
purpose  of  conveying  the  troops  over  to  Staten  Island."* 

The  mystery  was  at  length  solved.  "  We  have  now 
passed  all  the  enemy's  posts,"  continues  the  foregoing 
writer,  "  and  are  pursuing  our  route,  with  increased  ra- 
pidity, toward  Philadelphia.  Waggons  have  been  pre- 
pared to  carry  the  soldiers'  packs,  that  they  may  press 
forward  with  greater  facility.  Our  destination  can  no 
longer  be  a  secret.  Cornwalhs  is  unquestionably  the 
object  of  our  present  expedition.  *  *  *  *  jjis 
Excellency,  General  Washington,  having  succeeded  in  a 
masterly  piece  of  generalship,  has  now  the  satisfaction 
of  leaving  his  adversary  to  ruminate  on  his  own  morti- 
fying situation,  and  to  anticipate  the  perilous  fate  which 
awaits  his  fnend,  Lord  Comwallis,  in  a  different 
quarter."  f 

Washington  had  in  fact  reached  the  Delaware  with 
his  troops,  before  Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  aware  of  their 
destination.     It  was  too  late  to  oppose  their  march, 

,*  Thacher's  Military  Journal,  p.  323. 

t  Washington  several  years  afterwards,  speaking  of  this  important  march 
in  a  letter  to  Noah  Webster,  writes :  "  That  much  trouble  was  taken,  and 
finesse  used,  to  misguide  and  bewilder  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  regard  to  tha  real 
object,  by  fictitious  communications,  as  well  as  by  making  a  deceptive  provi- 
sion of  ovens,  forage  and  boats  in  his  neighborhood,  is  certain.  Nor  were  less 
pains  taken  to  deceive  our  own  army,  for  I  had  always  conceived  wliere  the 
imposition  does  not  completely  take  place  at  home,  it  would  never  suflSciently 
cucceed  abroad." — Sparks,  ix.  404. 


1781.]  ARNOLD   ATTACKS   NEW  LONDON.  339 

even  had  his  forces  been  adequate.  As  a  kind  of  coun- 
terplot, therefore,  and  in  the  hope  of  distracting  the 
attention  of  the  American  commander,  and  drawing  off  a 
part  of  his  troops,  he  hurried  off  an  expedition  to  the 
eastward,  to  insult  the  State  of  Connecticut,  and  attack 
her  seaport  of  New  London. 

The  command  of  this  expedition,  which  was  to  be 
one  of  ravage  and  destruction,  was  given  to  Arnold,  as 
if  it  was  necessary  to  complete  the  measure  of  his  infa- 
my, that  he  should  carry  fire  and  sword  into  his  native 
State,  and  desecrate  the  very  cradle  of  his  infancy 

On  the  6th  of  September  he  appeared  off  the 
harbor  of  New  London  with  a  fleet  of  ships  and  trans- 
ports and  a  force  of  two  thousand  infantry  and  three 
hundred  cavalry;  partly  British  troops,  but  a  great 
part  made  up  of  American  royalists  and  refugees,  and 
Hessian  Yagers. 

New  London  stands  on  the  west  bank  of  the  nver 
Thames.  The  approach  to  it  was  defended  by  two 
forts  on  opposite  sides  of  the  river,  and  about  a  mile 
below  the  town  ;  Port  Trumbull  on  the  west  and  Fort 
Griswold  on  the  east  side,  on  a  height  called  Groton 
Hill.  The  troops  landed  in  two  divisions  of  about 
eight  hundred  men  each ,  one  under  Lieutenant  Colo- 
nel Eyre  on  the  east  side,  the  other  under  Arnold  on 
the  west,  on  the  same  side  with  New  London  and 
about  three  miles  below  it.  Arnold  met  with  but  little 
opposition.  The  few  militia  which  manned  an  advance 
battery  and  Port  Trumbull  abandoned  their  posts  and 
crossed  the  river  to  Fort  Griswold.  He  pushed  on 
and  took  possession  of  the  town. 

Colonel  Eyre  had  a  harder  task.    The  militia,  about 


340  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  strong,  had  collected  in 
Fort  Griswold,  hastily  and  imperfectly  armed  it  is 
true,  some  of  them  merely  with  spears ;  but  they 
were  brave  men  and  had  a  brave  commander,  Colonel 
WiUiam  Ledyard,  brother  of  the  celebrated  traveller. 
The  fort  was  square  and  regularly  built.  Arnold 
unaware  of  its  strength  had  ordered  Colonel  Eyre  to 
take  it  by  a  coup-de-main.  He  discovered  his  mistake 
and  sent  counter  orders,  but  too  late. 

Colonel  Eyre  forced  the  pickets ;  made  his  way 
into  the  fosse  and  attacked  the  fort  on  three  sides ;  it 
was  bravely  defended;  the  enemy  were  repeatedly 
repulsed ;  they  returned  to  the  assault,  scrambled  up 
on  each  other's  shoulders,  effected  a  lodgment  on  the 
fraise,  and  made  their  way  with  fixed  bayonets  through 
the  embrasures.  Colonel  Eyre  received  a  mortal  wound 
near  the  works ,  Major  Montgomery  took  his  place ;  a 
negro  thmst  him  through  with  a  spear  as  he  mounted 
the  parapet ;  Major  Bromfield  succeeded  to  the  com- 
mand and  carried  the  fort  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 
In  fact  after  the  enemy  were  within  the  walls  the  fight- 
ing was  at  an  end  and  the  slaughter  commenced. 
Colonel  Ledyard  had  ordered  his  men  to  lay  down 
their  arms ,  but  the  enemy,  exasperated  by  the  resist- 
ance they  had  experienced  and  by  the  death  of  their 
officers,  contmued  the  deadly  work  of  the  musket  and 
the  bayonet.  Colonel  Ledyard,  it  is  said,  was  thrust 
through  with  his  own  sword  after  yielding  it  up  to 
Major  Bromfield.  Seventy  of  the  garrison  were  slain 
and  thirty -five  desperately  wounded;  and  most  of 
them  after  the  fort  had  been  taken»  The  massacre 
was  chiefly  perpetrated  by  the  tories,  refugees  and 


1781.]  ARNOLD    RAVAGES    NEW   LONDON.  341 

Hessians.  Major  BYomfield  himself  was  a  New  Jersey 
loyalist.  The  rancor  of  such  men  against  their  patriot 
countrymen  was  always  deadly.  The  loss  of  the 
enemy  was  two  officers  and  forty -six  soldiers  killed,  and 
eight  officers  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  soldiers 
wounded. 

Arnold  in  the  mean  time  had  carried  on  the  work 
of  destruction  at  New  London.  Some  of  the  Ameri- 
can shipping  had  effected  their  escape  up  the  river,  but 
a  number  were  burnt.  Fire  too  was  set  to  the  public 
stores  ;  it  communicated  to  the  dwelling  houses,  and, 
in  a  httle  while,  the  whole  place  was  wrapped  in 
flames.  The  destruction  was  immense,  not  only  of 
public  but  private  property  many  families  once  living 
in  affluence  were  ruined  and  rendered  homeless. 

Having  completed  his  ravage,  Arnold  retreated  to 
his  boats,  leaving  the  town  stiU  burning.  Alarm  guns 
had  roused  the  country;  the  traitor  was  pursued  by 
the  exasperated  yeomanry;  he  escaped  their  well- 
merited  vengeance,  but  several  of  his  men  were  killed 
and  wounded. 

So  ended  his  career  of  infamy  in  his  native  land  ; 
a  land  which  had  once  delighted  to  honor  him,  but  in 
which  his  name  was  never  thenceforth  to  be  pronounced 
without  a  malediction. 

The  expedition,  while  it  added  one  more  hateful 
and  disgraceful  incident  to  this  unnatural  war,  failed 
of  its  main  object.  It  had  not  diverted  Washington 
from  the  grand  object  on  which  he  had  fixed  his  mind. 
On  the  30th  of  August  he,  with  his  suite,  had  arrived 
at  Philadelphia  '•about  noon,  and  alighted  at  the  city 
tavern  amidst  enthusiastic  crowds,  who  welcomed  him 


342  LIFE   or  WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

with  acclamations,  but  wondered  at  the  object  of  this 
visit.  During  his  sojourn  in  the  city  he  was  hospitably 
entertained  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Moms,  the  patriotic 
financier.  The  greatest  difficulty  with  which  he  had  to 
contend  in  his  present  enterprise  was  the  want  of 
funds,  part  of  his  troops  not  having  received  any  pay 
for  a  long  time,  and  having  occasionally  given  evidence 
of  great  discontent.  The  service  upon  which  they 
were  going  was  disagreeable  to  the  northern  regiments, 
and  the  douceur  of  a  little  hard  money  would  have  an 
effect,  Washington  thought,  to  put  them  into  a  proper 
temper  In  this  emergency  he  was  accommodated  by 
the  Count  de  Rochambeau  with  a  loan  of  twenty  thou- 
sand hard  dollars,  which  Mr.  Robert  Morris  engaged  to 
repay  by  the  first  of  October.  This  pecuniary  pres- 
sure was  relieved  by  the  arrival  in  Boston  on  the  25th 
of  August  of  Colonel  John  Laurens  from  his  mission 
to  France,  bringing  ^vlth  him  two  and  a  half  millions 
of  livres  in  cash,  being  part  of  a  subsidy  of  six  mil- 
lions of  livres  granted  by  the  French  King. 

On  the  2d  of  September  the  American  troops 
passed  through  Philadelphia.  Their  line  of  march, 
including  appendages  and  attendants,  extended  nearly 
two  miles.  The  general  officers  and  their  staff's  were 
well  dressed  and  well  mounted,  and  followed  by  ser- 
vants and  baggage.  In  the  rear  of  every  brigade  were 
several  field-pieces  with  ammunition  waggons.  The 
soldiers  kept  step  to  the  sound  of  the  drum  and  fife. 
In  the  rear  followed  a  great  number  of  waggons  laden 
with  tents,  provisions  and  baggage,  beside  a  few  sol- 
diers' wives  and  children.  The  weather  was  Avarra  and 
dry.     The  troops  as  they  marched  raised  a  oloud  of 


1781.]  THE   ARMIES    AT   PHILADELPHIA.  343 

dust  "  like  a  smothering  snow  stonn,"  wMcli  almost 
blmded  them.  The  begriming  effect  was  especially 
mortifying  to  the  campaigner  whom  we  quote,  "as 
ladies  were  viewing  them  from  the  windows  of  every 
house  as  they  passed."  Notwithstanding  the  dusty 
and  somewhat  ragged  plight  of  the  soldiery,  however, 
they  were  cheered  with  enthusiasm  by  the  populace, 
who  hailed  them  as  the  war-worn  defenders  of  the 
country. 

The  French  troops  entered  on  the  following  day, 
but  in  different  style.  Halting  within  a  mile  of  the 
city  they  arranged  their  arms  and  accoutrements , 
brushed  the  dust  off  of  their  gay  white  uniforms  faced 
with  green,  and  then  marched  in  with  buoyant  step  and 
briUiant  array  to  the  swelling  music  of  a  military  band. 
The  streets  were  again  thronged  by  the  shouting  popu- 
lace. The  windows  were  crowded  with  ladies  ;  among 
whom  probably  were  some  of  the  beauties  who  had 
crowned  the  British  knights  in  the  chivalrous  mime 
of  the  Mischianza,  now  ready  to  bestow  smiles  and 
wreaths  on  their  Gallic  rivals. 

At  Philadelphia  Washington  received  despatches 
from  Lafayette,  dated  the  21st  and  24th  of  August 
from  his  camp  at  the  Forks  of  York  River  in  Virginia. 
The  embarkation  at  Portsmouth,  which  the  Marquis 
had  supposed  might  be  intended  for  New  York,  was 
merely  for  Yorktown,  where  Cornwallis  had  determined 
to  establish  the  permanent  post  ordered  in  his  instruc- 
tions. 

Yorktown  was  a  small  place  situated  on  a  project- 
ing bank  on  the  south  side  of  York  River,  opposite 
a  promqptory  called  Gloucester  Point.      The  river 


344  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

between  was  not  more  than  a  mile  wide,  but  deep 
enough  to  admit  ships  of  a  large  size  and  burthen. 
Here  concentrating  his  forces  he  had  proceeded  to 
fortify  the  opposite  points,  calculating  to  have  the 
works  finished  by  the  beginning  of  October ;  at  which 
time  Sir  Henry  Clinton  intended  to  recommence  opera- 
tions on  the  Chesapeake.  Beheving  that  he  had  no 
present  enemy  but  Lafayette  to  guard  against.  Corn- 
walks  felt  so  secure  in  his  position  that  he  wrote  to 
Sir  Henry  on  the  22d  of  August,  offering  to  detach  a 
thousand  or  twelve  hundred  men  to  strengthen  New 
York  against  the  apprehended  attack  of  the  combined 
armies. 

While  Comwallis,  undervaluing  his  youthful  adver- 
sary, felt  thus  secure,  Lafayette,  in  conformity  to  the 
instructions  of  Washington,  was  taking  measures  to 
cut  off  any  retreat  by  land  which  his  lordship  might 
attempt  on  the  arrival  of  De  Grasse.  With  this  view 
he  called  upon  General  Thomas  Nelson,  the  governor 
of  Virginia,  for  six  hundred  of  the  militia  to  be  col- 
lected upon  Blackwater ;  detached  troops  to  the  south 
of  James  River,  under  pretext  of  a  design  to  dislodge 
the  British  from  Portsmouth,  and  requested  General 
Wayne  to  move  southward,  to  be  ready  to  cross  James 
River  at  Westover 

As  to  himself,  Lafayette  was  prepared,  as  soon  as 
he  should  hear  of  the  arrival  of  De  Grasse  to  march  at 
once  to  Williamsburg  and  form  a  junction  with  the 
troops  which  were  to  be  landed  from  the  fleet.  Thus 
a  net  was  quietly  drawn  round  Comwallis  by  the 
youthful   general,  while  the  veteran  felt  himself  so 


1781.]  Washington's  concern  about  de  grasse.  345 

secure  that  he  was  talking  of  detaching  troops  to  New 
York. 

Lafayette,  at  the  time  of  writing  his  dispatches,  was 
ignorant  that  Washington  had  taken  command  of  the 
expedition  coming  to  his  aid,  and  expressed  an  affec- 
tionate sohcitude  on  the  subject.  "In  the  present 
state  of  affairs,  my  dear  General,"  writes  he,  "  I  hope 
you  will  come  yourself  to  Virginia,  and  that,  if  the 
Prench  army  moves  this  way,  I  will  have  at  least  the 
satisfaction  of  beholding  you,  myself,  at  the  head  of 
the  combined  armies."  In  concluding  his  letter,  he 
writes,  "  Adieu,  my  dear  General.  I  heartily  thank 
you  for  having  ordered  me  to  remain  in  Virginia ;  and 
to  your  goodness  to  me  I  am  owing  the  most  beautiful 
prospect  I  may  ever  behold." 

The  letter  of  Lafayette  gave  no  account  of  the 
Count  de  Grasse,  and  Washington  expressed  him- 
self distressed  beyond  measure  to  know  what  had  be- 
come  of  that  commander.  He  had  heard  of  an 
English  fleet  at  sea  steering  for  the  Chesapeake,  and 
feared  it  might  arrive  and  frustrate  all  the  flattering 
prospects  m  that  quarter.  Still,  as  usual,  he  looked  to 
the  bright  side.  "  Of  many  contingencies,"  writes  he, 
"  we  will  hope  for  the  most  propitious  events.  Should 
the  retreat  of  Lord  Cornwallis  by  water  be  cut  off  by 
the  arrival  of  either  of  the  French  fleets,  I  am  per- 
suaded you  will  do  all  in  your  power  to  prevent  his 
escape  by  land.  May  that  great  felicity  be  reserved 
for  you." 

Washington  left  Philadelphia  on  the  5th  of  Sep- 
tember, on  his  way  to  the  head  of  Elk.  About  three 
miles  below  Chester  he  was  met  by  an  express  bearing 


346  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

tidings  of  the  arrival  of  the  Count  de  Grasse  in  the 
Chesapeake  with  twenty -eight  ships  of  the  hne.  Wash- 
ington instantly  rode  back  to  Chester  to  rejoice  with 
the  Count  de  Rochambeau,  who  was  coming  down  to 
that  place  from  Philadelphia  by  water.  They  had  a 
joyous  dinner  together,  after  which  Washington  pro- 
ceeded in  the  evening  on  his  destination. 

The  express  meantime  reached  Philadelphia  most 
opportunely  There  had  been  a  grand  review  of  the 
French  troops,  at  which  the  President  of  Congress  and 
all  the  fashion  of  the  city  were  present.  It  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  banquet  given  to  the  officers  by  the  Prench 
minister,  the  Chevalier  de  Luzerne.  Scarce  were  the 
company  seated  at  table  when  dispatches  came  an- 
nouncing the  arrival  of  De  Grasse  and  the  landing  of 
three  thousand  troops  under  the  Marquis  St.  Simon, 
who,  it  was  added,  had  opened  a  communication  witb 
Lafayette, 

All  now  w^as  mutual  gratulation  at  the  banquet. 
The  news  soon  went  forth  and  spread  throughout  the 
city.  Acclamations  were  to  be  heard  on  all  sides,  and 
crowds  assembling  before  the  house  of  the  Prench 
Minister  rent  the  air  with  hearty  huzzas  for  Louis  the 
Sixteenth. 

Washington  reached  the  Head  of  Elk  on  the  6th. 
The  troops  and  a  great  part  of  the  stores  were  already 
aiTived  and  beginning  to  embark.  Thence  he  wrote 
to  the  Count  de  Grasse  felicitating  him  on  his  arrival ; 
and  informing  him  that  the  van  of  the  two  armies  were 
about  to  embark  and  fall  down  the  Chesapeake,  form  a 
junction  with  the  troops  under  the  Count  de  St. 
Simon  and  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  and  co-operate 


1781.]  MOUNT  VERNON   REVISITED.  347 

in  blocking  up  Cornwallis  in  York  River,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent his  retreat  by  land  or  his  getting  any  supplies 
from  the  country.  "  As  it  will  be  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance," writes  he,  "to  prevent  the  escape  of  his 
lordship  from  his  present  position,  I  am  persuaded 
that  e^  ery  measure  which  prudence  can  dictate  will  be 
adopted  for  that  purpose,  until  the  arrival  of  our  com- 
plete force,  when  I  hope  his  lordship  will  be  compelled 
to  yield  his  ground  to  the  superior  power  of  our  com- 
bined forces." 

Every  thing  had  thus  far  gone  on  well,  but  there 
were  not  vessels  enough  at  the  Head  of  Elk  for  the 
immediate  transportation  of  all  the  troops,  ordnance 
and  stores,  a  part  of  the  troops  would  have  to  pro- 
ceed to  Baltimore  by  land.  Leaving  General  Heath 
to  bring  on  the  American  forces,  and  the  Baron  de 
Viomenil  the  French,  Washington,  accompanied  by  De 
Rochambeau,  crossed  the  Susquehanna  early  on  the 
8th,  and  pushed  forward  for  Baltimore.  He  was  met 
by  a  deputation  of  the  citizens,  who  made  him  a  pub- 
lic addi'css,  to  which  he  replied,  and  his  arrival  was 
celebrated  in  the  evening  with  illuminations. 

On  the  9  th  he  left  Baltimore  a  httle  after  daybreak, 
accompanied  only  by  Colonel  Humphreys,  the  rest 
of  his  suite  were  to  follow  at  their  ease ;  for  himself 
he  was  determined  to  reach  Mount  Vernon  that  eve- 
ning. Six  years  had  elapsed  since  last  he  was  under 
its  roof,  SIX  wearing  years  of  toil,  of  danger  and  con- 
stant anxiety.  During  all  that  time,  and  amid  all  his 
military  cares,  he  had  kept  up  a  regular  weekly  corres- 
pondence with  his  steward  or  agent,  regulating  all  the 


348  LIFE   OP  WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

affairs  of  his  rural  establishment  with  as  much  exact- 
ness as  he  did  those  of  the  army. 

It  was  a  late  hour  when  he  arrived  at  Mount  Ver- 
non ;  where  he  was  joined  by  his  suite  at  dinner  time  on 
the  following  day  and  by  the  Count  de  Rochambeau  ii 
the  evening.  General  Chastellux  and  his  aides-de-camp 
arrived  there  on  the  11th,  and  Mount  Vernon  was  now 
crowded  with  guests,  who  were  all  entertained  in  the 
ample  style  of  old  Virginian  hospitality.  On  the  12th, 
tearing  himself  away  once  more  from  the  home  of  his 
heart,  Washington  with  his  military  associates  contin- 
ued onward  to  join  Lafayette  at  WiUiamsburg. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

OOENWALUS  AROUSED  TO  HIS  DANGER — HIS  RETREAT  TO  THE  OAROLINAS 
OITT  OFF — STRENGTHENS  HIS  "WORKS — ACTION  BETWEEN  THE  FRENCH 
AND  BRITISH  FLEETS — ^WASHINGTON  AND  DE  ROOHAMBEATJ  VISIT  THE 
FRENCH  FLEET — OPERATIONS  BEFORE  TORKTOWN. 

Lord  Cornwallis  had  been  completely  roused  from 
his  dream  of  security  by  the  appearance  on  the  28th 
of  August,  of  the  fleet  of  Count  de  Grasse  within  the 
capes  of  the  Delaware.  Three  French  ships  of  the  line 
and  a  frigate  soon  anchored  at  the  mouth  of  York 
River.  The  boats  of  the  fleet  were  immediately  busy 
conveying  three  thousand  three  hundred  land  forces, 
under  the  Marquis  de  St.  Simon,  up  James  River  to 
form  the  preconcerted  junction  with  those  under 
Lafayette. 

Awakened  to  his  danger,  CornwaUis,  as  Washington 
had  foreseen,  meditated  a  retreat  to  the  CaroHnas.  It 
was  too  late.  York  River  was  blocked  up  by  French 
ships ;  James  River  was  filled  with  armed  vessels  cov- 
ering the  transportation  of  the  troops.  His  lordship 
reconnoitred  Williamsburg;  it  was  too  strong  to  be 
forced,  and  Wayne  had  crossed  James  River  to  join  his 
troops  to  those  under  the  marquis.     Seeing  his  retreat 


350  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

cut  off  in  every  direction,  Comwallis  proceeded  to 
strengthen  his  works ,  sending  off  repeated  expresses  to 
apprise  Sir  Henry  CUnton  of  his  perilous  situation. 

The  Count  de  Grasse,  eager  to  return  to  the  West 
Indies,  urged  Lafayette  to  make  an  immediate  attack 
upon  the  British  army,  with  the  American  and  French 
troops  under  his  command,  without  waiting  for  the  com- 
bined force  under  Washington  and  Rochambeau,  of- 
fering to  aid  him  with  marines  and  sailors  from  the 
ships.  The  admiral  was  seconded  by  the  Marquis  de 
St.  Simon.  They  represented  that  the  works  at  York- 
iovm.  were  yet  incomplete;  and  that  that  place  and 
Gloucester,  immediately  opposite,  might  be  carried  by 
storm  by  their  superior  force.  It  was  a  brilliant  achieve- 
ment which  they  held  out  to  tempt  the  youthful 
commander,  but  he  remained  undazzled.  He  would 
not,  for  the  sake  of  personal  distinction,  lavish  the  lives 
of  the  brave  men  confided  to  him ,  but  would  await 
the  arrival  of  the  combined  forces,  when  success  might 
be  attained  with  little  loss,  and  would  leave  to  Wash- 
ington the  coup  de  grace ,  in  all  probability  the  closing 
triumph  of  the  war. 

The  Count  de  Grasse  had  been  but  a  few  days  an- 
chored within  the  Chesapeake,  and  fifteen  hundred  of 
his  seamen  were  absent,  conveying  the  troops  up  James 
River,  when  Admiral  Graves,  who  then  commanded  the 
British  naval  force  on  the  American  coast,  appeared 
with  twenty  sail  off  the  capes  of  Virginia.  De  Grasse, 
anxious  to  protect  the  squadron  of  the  Count  de  Barras, 
which  was  expected  from  Rhode  Island,  and  which  it 
was  the  object  of  Graves  to  intercept,  immediately 
slipped  his  cables  and  put  to  sea  with  twenty-four 


1781J.        BATTLE   OF   DE    GRASSE    AND    GRAVES.  351 

ships,  leaving  the  rest  to  blockade  York  and  James 
Rivers. 

Washnigton  received  information  of  the  sailing  of 
the  fleet  from  the  capes,  shortly  after  his  departure  from 
Mount  Vernon,  and  histantly  despatched  missives,  or- 
dering the  troops  who  were  embarked  at  the  Head  of 
Elk  to  stop  until  the  receipt  of  further  intelligence,  fear- 
ing that  the  navigation  m  Chesapeake  Bay  might  not 
be  secure.  Por  two  days  he  remained  in  anxious  un- 
certainty, until,  at  Bowling  Green,  he  was  relieved  by 
favorable  rumors  concerning  the  fleet,  which  were  con- 
firmed on  his  arriving  at  Williamsburg  on  the  evening 
of  the  14th. 

Admiral  Graves,  it  appeared,  on  the  sallying  forth 
of  the  French  fleet,  immediately  prepared  for  action,  al- 
though he  had  five  ships  less  than  De  Grasse.  The 
latter,  however,  was  not  disposed  to  accept  the  chal- 
lenge, his  force  being  weakened  by  the  absence  of  so 
many  of  his  seamen,  employed  m  transporting  troops. 
His  plan  was  to  occupy  the  enemy  by  partial  actions 
and  skilful  manoeuvres,  so  as  to  retain  his  possession 
of  the  Chesapeake,  and  cover  the  arrival  of  De  Barras. 

The  vans  of  the  two  fleets,  and  some  ships  of  the 
centre,  engaged  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  7th  of  September.  The  conflict  soon  became  ani- 
mated. Several  ships  were  damaged,  ai\d  many  men 
killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides. 

De  Grasse,  who  had  the  advantage  of  the  wind, 
drew  off"  after  sunset ,  satisfied  with  the  damage  done 
and  sustained  and  not  disposed  for  a  general  action ; 
nor  was  the  British  admiral  inclined  to  push  the  en- 
gagement so  near  night  and  on  a  hostile  coast.     Among 


352  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

his  ships  that  had  suffered,  one  had  been  so  severely 
handled  that  she  was  no  longer  seaworthy  and  had, to 
be  burnt.  Por  four  days  the  fleets  remained  in  sight 
of  each  other,  repairing  damages  and  manoeuvring; 
but  the  French  having  still  the  advantage  of  the  wind 
maintamed  their  prudent  policy  of  avoiding  a  general 
engagement.  At  length  De  Grasse,  learning  that  De 
Barras  was  arrived  within  the  capes,  formed  a  junction 
with  him,  and  returned  with  him  to  his  former  anchor- 
ing ground,  with  two  English  frigates  which  he  had 
captured.  Admiral  Graves,  disappointed  in  his  hope  of 
intercepting  De  Barras,  and  finding  the  Chesapeake 
guarded  by  a  superior  force  with  which  he  could  not 
prudently  contend ,  having  moreover  to  encounter  the 
autumnal  gales  in  the  battered  state  of  several  of  his 
ships,  left  the  coast  and  bore  away  for  New  York. 
Under  convoy  of  the  squadron  of  De  Barras  came  a 
fleet  of  transports,  conveying  land  forces  under  M.  de 
Choisy  with  siege  artillery  and  mihtary  stores.  It 
should  be  mentioned  to  the  credit  of  De  Barras  that, 
in  his  orders  from  the  French  minister  of  marine  to 
come  to  America,  he  was  left  at  hberty  to  make  a 
cruise  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland;  so  as  not  to 
be  obliged  to  serve  under  De  Grasse  who  was  his 
inferior  in  rank,  but  whom  the  minister  wished  to  con- 
tinue in  the  command.  "  But  De  Barras,"  writes 
Lafayette,  "  nobly  took  the  part  of  conducting,  himself, 
the  artillery  from  Khode  Island,  and  of  commg  with  all 
his  vessels  and  placing  himself  under  the  orders  of  an 
admiral  his  junior  in  service."  * 

»  Memoires  de  Lafayette,  t.  i.  p.  467. 


1781.]        VISIT   TO   THE    FLEET   OF    DE    GRASSE.  353 

From  Williamsburg,  Washington  sent  forward 
Count  Fersen,  one  of  the  aides-de-camp  of  De  Ro- 
chambeau,  to  hurry  on  the  French  troops  with  all  possi- 
ble dispatch.  He  wrote  to  the  same  purport  to  General 
Lincoln  "  Every  day  we  now  lose,"  said  he,  "  is  com- 
paratively an  age ;  as  soon  as  it  is  in  our  power  with 
safety  we  ought  to  take  our  position  near  the  enemy. 
Hurry  on  then,  my  dear  Sir,  with  your  troops  on  the 
wings  of  speed.  The  want  of  our  men  and  stores  is 
now  all  that  retards  our  immediate  operations  Lord 
Cornwalhs  is  improving  every  moment  to  the  best 
advantage ;  and  every  day  that  is  given  him  to  make 
his  preparations  may  cost  us  many  lives  to  encounter 
them." 

It  was  with  great  satisfaction  Washington  learned 
that  Admiral  de  Barras  had  anticipated  his  wishes,  m 
sending  transports  and  prize  vessels  up  the  bay  to 
assist  in  bringing  on  the  French  troops.  In  the  mean 
time  he  with  Count  de  Rochambeau  was  desirous  of 
having  an  interview  with  the  admiral  on  board  of  his 
ship,  provided  he  could  send  some  fast  sailing  cutter 
to  receive  them.  A  small  ship,  the  Queen  Charlotte, 
was  furnished  by  the  admiral  for  the  purpose.  It 
had  been  captured  on  its  voyage  from  Charleston  to 
New  York,  having  Lord  Rawdon  on  board,  and  had 
been  commodiously  fitted  up  for  his  lordship's  recep- 
tion. 

On  board  of  this  vessel  Washington  and  De  Ro- 
chambeau, with  the  ChevaUer  de  Chastellux  and  Generals 
Knox  and  Duportail,  embarked  on  the  18th,  and  pro- 
ceeding down  James  River,  came  the  next  morning  in 
sight  of  the  French  fleet  riding  at  anchor  in  Lynn 
VOL.  IV. — 23 


354  LIFE   OP  WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

Haven  Bay,  just  under  the  point  of  Cape  Henry. 
About  noon  they  got  along  side  of  the  admiral's  ship 
the  Ville  de  Paris,  and  were  received  on  board  with 
great  ceremony  and  naval  and  miUtary  parade.  Admi- 
ral de  Grasse  was  a  tall,  fine-looking  man,  plain  in  his 
address  and  prompt  in  the  discharge  of  business.  A 
plan  of  co-operation  was  soon  arranged  to  be  carried 
into  effect  on  the  arrival  of  the  American  and  French 
armies  from  the  north,  which  were  actually  on  their 
way  down  the  Chesapeake  from  the  Head  of  Elk. 
Business  being  despatched  dinner  was  served,  after 
which  they  were  conducted  throughout  the  ship  and 
received  the  visits  of  the  officers  of  the  fleet,  almost  all 
of  whom  came  on  board. 

About  sunset  Washington  and  his  companions  took 
their  leave  of  the  admiral  and  returned  on  board  of 
their  own  little  ship ;  when  the  yards  of  all  the  ships 
of  the  fleet  were  manned  and  a  parting  salute  was 
thundered  from  the  Ville  de  Paris.  Owing  to  storms 
and  contrary  winds  and  to  other  adverse  circumstances 
the  party  did  not  reach  Williamsburg  until  the  2  2d, 
when  intelligence  was  received  that  threatened  to  dis- 
concert all  the  plans  formed  in  the  recent  council  on 
board  ship.  Admiral  Digby,  it  appeared,  had  arrived 
in  New  York  with  six  ships  of  the  line  and  a  reinforce- 
ment of  troops.  This  intelligence  Washington  in- 
stantly transmitted  to  the  Count  de  Grasse  by  one  of 
the  Count  de  Rochambeau's  aides-de-camp.  De  Grasse 
in  reply  expressed  great  concern,  observing  that  the 
position  of  affairs  was  changed  by  the  arrival  of  Digby. 
"  The  enemy,"  writes  he,  "  is  now  nearly  equal  to  us 
in  strength,  and  it  would  be  imprudent  in  me  to  place 


1781.]  THREATENED  DEPARTURE  OF  THE  FLEET.   355 

myself  in  a  situation  that  would  prevent  my  attackmg 
them  should  they  attempt  to  afford  succor."  He  pro- 
posed, therefore,  to  leave  two  vessels  at  the  mouth  of 
York  River,  and  the  corvettes  and  frigates  in  James 
River,  which,  with  the  French  troops  on  shore,  would 
be  sufficient  assistance ;  and  to  put  to  sea  with  the  rest, 
either  to  intercept  the  enemy  and  fight  them  where 
there  was  good  sea  room,  or  to  blockade  them  in  New 
York  should  they  not  have  sailed. 

On  reading  this  letter,  Washington  dreaded  that 
the  present  plan  of  co-operation  might  likewise  fall 
through,  and  the  fruits  of  all  his  schemes  and  combi- 
nations be  lost  when  within  his  reach.  With  the  as- 
sistance of  the  fleet  the  reduction  of  Yorktown  was 
demonstrably  certain,  and  the  surrender  of  the  garri- 
son must  go  far  to  terminate  the  war;  whereas  the 
departure  of  the  ships,  by  leaving  an  opening  for  suc- 
cor to  the  enemy,  might  frustrate  these  brilliant  pros- 
pects and  involve  the  whole  enterprise  in  ruin  and  dis- 
grace. Even  a  momentary  absence  of  the  French  fleet 
might  enable  Cornwallis  to  evacuate  Yorktown  and 
effect  a  retreat,  with  the  loss  merely  of  his  baggage 
and  artillery  and  perhaps  a  few  soldiers.  These  and 
other  considerations  were  urged  in  a  letter  to  the 
count,  remonstrating  against  his  putting  to  sea.  La- 
fayette was  the  bearer  of  the  letter,  and  seconded  it 
with  so  many  particulars  respecting  the  situation  of 
the  armies,  and  argued  the  case  so  earnestly  and  elo- 
quently, that  the  count  consented  to  remain.  It  was, 
furthermore,  determined  in  a  council  of  war  of  his 
officers,  that  a  large  part  of  the  fleet  should  anchor  in 
York  River  ;  four  or  five  vessels  be  stationed  so  as  to 


356  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

pass  up  and  down  James  River,  and  a  batteiy  for  can- 
non and  mortars  be  erected  with  the  aid  of  the  allied 
troops  on  Point  Comfort. 

By  the  25  th  the  American  and  French  troops  were 
mostly  arrived  and  encamped  near  WilUamsburg,  and 
preparations  were  made  for  the  decisive  blow 

YorktoAvn,  as  has  already  been  noted,  is  situated 
on  the  south  side  of  York  River,  immediately  opposite 
Gloucester  Point.  Cornwallis  had  fortified  the  town 
by  seven  redoubts  and  six  batteries  on  the  land  side, 
connected  by  intrenchments ;  and  there  was  a  line  of 
batteries  along  the  river.  The  town  was  flanked  on 
each  side  by  deep  ravines  and  creeks  emptying  into 
York  River,  their  heads,  in  front  of  the  town,  being 
not  more  than  half  a  mile  apart.  The  enemy  had 
availed  themselves  of  these  natural  defences,  in  the 
arrangement  of  extensive  outworks,  with  redoubts 
strengthened  by  abatis  ;  field-works  momited  with  can- 
non, and  trees  cut  down  and  left  with  the  branches 
pointed  outward. 

Gloucester  Point  had  likewise  been  fortified.  Its 
batteries,  with  those  of  Yorktown,  commanded  the  in- 
tervening river.  Ships  of  war  were  likewise  stationed 
on  it,  protected  by  the  guns  of  the  forts,  and  the  chan- 
nel was  obstructed  by  sunken  vessels. 

The  defence  of  Gloucester  Point  was  confided  to 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Dundas,  with  six  or  seven  hundred 
men.  The  enemy's  main  army  was  encamped  about 
Yorktown  within  the  range  of  the  outer  redoubts  and 
field-works. 

Washington  and  his  staff  bivouacked  that  night  on 
the  ground  in  the  open  air.     He  slept  under  a  mul- 


1Y81.]  BELIEF   PROMISED    COENWALLIS.  357 

berry  tree,  the  root  serving  for  his  pillow.  On  the  fol- 
lowing morning  the  two  armies  drew  out  on  each  side 
of  Beaver  Dam  Creek.  The  Americans,  forming  the 
right  wing,  took  station  on  the  east  side  of  the  creek ; 
the  French,  forming  the  left  wing,  on  the  west. 

That  evenmg  Cornwallis  received  dispatches  from 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  informing  him  of  the  arrival  of 
Admiral  Digby,  and  that  a  fleet  of  twenty -three  ships 
of  the  Ime,  with  above  five  thousand  troops  would 
sail  to  his  assistance  probably  on  the  5th  of  October. 
A  heavy  firing  would  be  made  by  them  on  arriving  at 
the  entrance  of  the  Chesapeake.  On  hearing  it,  if  all 
went  well  at  Yorktown  his  lordship  was  to  make  three 
separate  columns  of  smoke;  and  four,  should  he  still 
possess  the  post  at  Gloucester  Point. 

Cornwallis  immediately  wrote  in  reply:  "I  have 
ventured  these  last  two  days  to  look  General  Washing- 
ton's whole  force  m  the  face  in  the  position  on  the  out- 
side of  my  works,  and  have  the  pleasure  to  assure  your 
Excellency  that  there  is  but  one  wish  throughout  the 
army,  which  is  that  the  enemy  would  advance.  *  * 
*  *  I  shall  retire  this  night  within  the  works,  and 
have  no  doubt,  if  relief  arrives  in  any  reasonable  time, 
York  and  Gloucester  will  be  both  in  the  possession  of 
His  Majesty's  troops.  I  believe  your  Excellency  must 
depend  more  on  the  sound  of  our  cannon  than  the  sig- 
nal of  smokes  for  information ,  however,  I  will  attempt 
it  on  the  Gloucester  side."  * 

That  night  his  lordship  accordingly  abandoned  his 
outworks  and  drew  his  troops  within   the  town;  a 

*  Correspondence  relative  to  defence  of  York,  p.  199. 


358  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

measure  strongly  censured  by  Tarleton  in  his  Commen- 
taries as  premature ;  as  cooping  up  the  troops  in  nar- 
row quarters,  and  giving  up  a  means  of  disputing,  inch 
by  inch,  the  approaches  of  the  besiegers,  and  thus  gain- 
ing time  to  complete  the  fortifications  of  the  town. 

The  outworks  thus  abandoned  were  seized  upon 
the  next  mornmg  by  detachments  of  American  light 
infantry  and  French  troops,  and  served  to  cover  the 
troops  employed  m  throwmg  up  breastworks.  Colo- 
nel Alexander  Scammel,  officer  of  the  day,  while  recon- 
noitrmg  the  ground  abandoned  by  the  enemy,  was* 
set  upon  by  a  party  of  Hessian  troopers.  He  at- 
tempted to  escape,  but  was  wounded,  captured,  and 
carried  off  to  Yorktown.  Washington,  to  whom  he 
had  formerly  acted  as  aide-de-camp,  interested  himself 
in  his  favor,  and  at  his  request  Comwalhs  permitted 
him  to  be  removed  to  Williamsburg,  where  he  died  in 
the  course  of  a  few  days.  He  was  an  officer  of  much 
merit,  and  his  death  was  deeply  regretted  by  Washing- 
ton and  the  army. 

The  combined  French  and  Amencan  forces  were 
now  twelve  thousand  strong,  exclusive  of  the  Virginia 
militia  which  Governor  Nelson  had  brought  into  the 
field.  An  instance  of  patriotic  self-devotion  on  the 
part  of  this  functionary  is  worthy  of  special  record. 
The  treasury  of  Virginia  was  empty;  the  governor, 
fearful  that  the  militia  would  disband  for  want  of  pay, 
had  endeavored  to  procure  a  loan  from  a  wealthy  indi- 
vidual on  the  credit  of  the  State.  In  the  precarious 
situation  of  affairs  the  guarantee  was  not  deemed 
sufficient.  The  governor  pledged  his  own  property, 
and  obtained  the  loan  at  his  individual  risk. 


ITSI.]  THE   INVESTMENT.  359 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th  of  September  the 
combined  armies  marched  from  Wilhamsburg  toward 
Yorktown,  about  twelve  miles  distant,  and  encamped  at 
night  within  two  miles  of  it,  driving  in  the  pickets 
and  some  patrols  of  cavaby.  General  de  Choisy  was 
sent  across  York  River,  with  Lauzun's  legion  and  Gene- 
ral Weedon's  bngade  of  militia,  to  watch  the  enemy  on 
the  side  of  Gloucester  Point. 

By  the  first  of  October  the  hne  of  the  besiegers, 
nearly  two  miles  from  the  works,  formed  a  semicircle, 
each  end  resting  on  the  river,  so  that  the  investment 
by  land  was  complete;  while  the  Count  de  Grasse 
with  the  mam  fleet,  remained  in  Lynn  Haven  Bay,  to 
keep  off"  assistance  by  sea. 

About  this  time  the  Americans  threw  up  two  re- 
doubts in  the  mght,  which,  on  being  discovered  in 
the  morning,  were  severely  cannonaded. »  Three  of  the 
men  were  killed  and  several  severely  wounded.  While 
Washington  was  superintending  the  works,  a  shot 
struck  the  ground  close  by  him  throwing  up  a  cloud 
of  dust.  The  Rev,  Mr.  Evans,  chaplain  in  the  army, 
who  was  standing  by  him,  was  greatly  agitated.  Tak- 
ing off  his  hat  and  showing  it  covered  with  sand,  "  See 
here.  General,"  exclaimed  he.  "  Mr.  Evans,"  said 
Washington  with  grave  pleasantry,  "you  had  bet- 
ter carry  that  home,  and  show  it  to  your  wife  and 
children."* 

The  besieged  army  began  now  to  be  greatly  dis- 
tressed for  want  of  forage,  and  had  to  kill  many  of 
their  horses,  the  carcasses  of  which  were  continually 

•  Thaclier's  Military  Journal,  p.  336. 


360  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

floating  down  the  river.  In  the  evening  of  the  2d  of 
October,  Tarleton  with  his  legion  and  the  mounted  in- 
fantry were  passed  over  the  river  to  Gloucester  Point, 
to  assist  in  foraging.  At  daybreak  Lieutenant-colonel 
Dundas  led  out  part  of  his  garrison  to  forage  the 
neighboring  country.  About  ten  o'clock  the  waggons 
and  bat  horses  laden  with  Indian  com  were  returning, 
covered  by  a  party  of  infantry,  with  Tarleton  and  his 
dragoons  as  a  rear-guard.  The  waggons  and  infantry 
had  nearly  reached  York  River,  when  word  was  brought 
that  an  enemy  was  advancing  m  force.  The  report 
was  confirmed  by  a  cloud  of  dust  from  which  emerged 
Lauzun  and  the  French  hussars  and  lancers. 

Tarleton,  with  part  of  his  legion,  advanced  to  meet 
them ;  the  rest,  with  Simcoe's  dragoons,  remained  as  a 
rear-guard  in  a  skirt  of  woods.  A  skirmish  ensued, 
gallantly  sustained  on  each  side,  but  the  superiority  of 
Tarleton's  horses  gave  him  the  advantage.  General 
Choisy  hastened  up  with  a  corps  of  cavalry  and  infan- 
try to  support  the  hussars.  In  the  medley  fight  a 
dragoon's  horse,  wounded  by  a  lance,  plunged  and  over- 
threw both  Tarleton  and  his  steed.  The  rear-guard 
rushed  from  their  covert  to  rescue  their  commander. 
They  came  galloping  up  in  such  disorder,  that  they 
were  roughly  received  by  Lauzun 's  hussars,  who  were 
drawn  up  on  the  plain.  In  the  mean  time  Tarleton 
scrambled  out  of  the  melee,  mounted  another  horse, 
and  ordered  a  retreat  to  enable  his  men  to  recover 
from  their  confusion.  Dismounting  forty  infantry  he 
placed  them  in  a  thicket.  Their  fire  checked  the  hus- 
sars in  their  pursuit.  The  British  dragoons  ralhed 
and  were  about  to  charge ;  when  the  hussars  retired 


1781.]  LAST   SKIRMISH    OF   TARLETON.  361 

behind  their  infantry ;  and  a  fire  was  opened  upon  the 
British  by  some  militia  from  behind  a  fence.  Tarleton 
again  ordered  a  retreat  to  be  sounded,  and  the  con- 
flict came  to  an  end.  The  loss  of  the  British  in  killed 
and  wounded  was  one  officer  and  eleven  men ;  that  of 
the  French  two  officers  and  fourteen  hussars.  This 
was  the  last  affair  of  Tarleton  and  his  legion  in  the 
revolutionary  war. 

The  next  day  General  Choisy  being  reinforced  by 
a  detachment  of  marines  from  the  fleet  of  De  Grasse, 
cut  off  all  communication  by  land  between  Gloucester 
and  the  country. 

At  this  momentous  time,  when  the  first  parallel 
before  the  besieged  city  was  about  to  be  opened, 
Washington  received  dispatches  from  his  faithful  coad- 
jutor General  Greene,  giving  him  important  intelligence 
of  his  co-operations  in  the  South ;  to  consider  which 
we  will  suspend  for  a  moment  our  narrative  of  affairs 
before  Yorktown. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

6REEIfE  ON  THE  HIGH  HILLS  OF  8ANTEE  —  THE  EN^EiTT  HABASSE9 
—  GREENE  MA20HES  AGAINST  STUART  —  BATTLE  NEAR  KTTTAIT 
8PBINGS. 

For  some  weeks  in  tlie  months  of  July  and  August, 
General  Greene  had  remained  encamped  with  his  main 
force  on  the  high  hills  of  Santee,  refreshmg  and  dis- 
ciplining his  men,  and  awaitmg  the  arnval  of  promised 
reinforcements.  He  was  constantly  looking  to  Wash- 
ington as  his  polar  star  by  which  to  steer,  and  feared 
despatches  from  him  had  been  intercepted.  "I  wait 
with  impatience  for  intelligence,"  said  he,  "  by  which  I 
mean  to  govern  my  own  operations.  If  things  are 
flattering  in  the  North,  I  will  hazard  less  in  the  South ; 
but,  if  otherwise  there,  we  must  risk  more  here."  In 
the  mean  time  Marion  with  his  light  troops,  aided  by 
Colonel  Washington  with  his  dragoons,  held  control 
over  the  lower  Santee.  Lee  was  detached  to  operate 
with  Sumter's  brigade  on  the  Congaree,  and  Colonel 
Harden  with  his  mounted  militia  was  scouring  the 
country  about  the  Edisto.  The  enemy  was  thus  ha- 
rassed in  every  quarter;  their  convoys  and  foraging 


1T81.]        GREENE   MARCHES    AGAINST   STUART.  363 

parties  waylaid  ;  and  Stuart  was  obliged  to  obtain  all 
his  supplies  from  below. 

Greene  was  disappointed  as  to  reinforcements.  All 
that  he  received  were  two  hundred  North  Carolina 
levies  and  five  hundred  South  Carolina  militia ;  still  he 
prepared  for  a  bold  effort  to  dnve  the  enemy  from  their 
remaining  posts.  For  that  purpose,  on  the  22d  of 
August  he  broke  up  his  encampment  on  the  "  benign 
hills  of  Santee/'  to  march  against  Colonel  Stuart. 
The  latter  still  lay  encamped  about  sixteen  miles  dis- 
tant in  a  straight  hue ,  but  the  Congaree  and  Wateree 
lay  between,  bordered  by  swamps  overflowed  by  recent 
rains ,  to  cross  them  and  reach  the  hostile  camp  it  was 
necessary  to  make  a  circmt  of  seventy  miles.  While 
Greene  was  making  it,  Stuart  abandoned  his  position 
and  moved  down  forty  miles  to  the  vicinity  of  Eutaw 
Spnngs,  where  he  was  reinforced  by  a  detachment 
from  Charleston  -vvith  provisions. 

Greene  followed  on  by  easy  marches.  He  had 
been  joined  by  General  Pickens  with  a  party  of  the 
Ninety  Six  militia  and  by  the  State  troops  under  Lieut, 
colonel  Henderson ;  and  now  moved  slowly  to  give 
time  for  Marion,  who  was  scouring  the  country  about 
the  Edisto,  to  rejoin  him.  This  was  done  on  the  5th 
of  September  at  Laurens'  place,  within  seventeen  miles 
of  Stuai't*s  camp.  Here  baggage,  tents,  every  thing 
that  could  impede  motion  was  left  behind,  and  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  seventh  the  army  was  pushed  on 
within  seven  miles  of  the  Eutaws,  where  it  bivouacked 
for  the  night,  Greene  lying  on  the  ground  wrapped  in 
his  cloak  with  the  root  of  a  tree  for  a  pillow. 

At  four  o'clock  m  the  morning  his  little  army  was 


364  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

in  motion.  His  whole  force  at  that  time  did  not 
exceed  two  thousand  men ;  that  of  the  enemy  he  was 
seeking,  about  twenty-three  hundred.  The  Americans, 
however,  were  superior  in  cavalry.  Owing  to  the  diffi- 
culty of  receiving  information  and  the  country  bein^ 
covered  with  forests,  the  enemy  were  not  aware  of 
Greene's  approach  until  he  was  close  upon  them. 

His  army  advanced  in  two  columns,  which  were  to 
form  the  two  lines  of  battle.  The  first  column,  com- 
manded by  General  Marion,  was  composed  of  two 
battalions  of  North  and  two  of  South  Carolina  militia. 
The  second  column  of  three  brigades;  one  of  North 
Carohna,  one  of  Virginia,  and  one  of  Maryland  Conti- 
nental troops.  Colonel  Lee  with  his  legion  covered 
the  right  flank,  Colonel  Henderson  the  left.  Colonel 
Washington,  with  his  dragoons  and  the  Delaware 
troops,  foi-med  the  reserve.  Each  column  had  two 
field-pieces. 

Within  four  miles  of  Eutaw  they  met  with  a  British 
detachment  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  infantry  and  fifty 
cavalry  under  Major  Coffin,  sent  forward  to  reconnoitre ; 
it  was  put  to  flight  after  a  severe  skirmish,  in  which  a 
number  were  killed  and  wounded,  and  several  taken 
prisoners.  Supposing  this  to  be  the  van  of  the  enemy, 
Greene  halted  his  columns  and  formed.  The  South 
Carolinians  in  equal  divisions  formed  the  right  and  left 
of  the  first  line,  the  North  Carolinians  the  centre. 
General  Marion  commanded  the  right ;  General  Pickens, 
the  left ;  Colonel  Malmedy,  the  centre.  Colonel  Hen- 
derson with  the  State  troops  covered  the  left  of  the 
line ;  Colonel  Lee  with  his  legion,  the  right. 

Of  the  second  line,  composed  of  regulars,  the  North 


1781.]  BATTLE   OF   EUTAW   SPRINGS.  365 

Carolmians  under  General  Sumner  were  on  the  right ; 
the  Marylanders,  under  Colonel  Williams,  on  tlie  left ; 
the  Virginians,  under  Colonel  Campbell,  in  the  centre. 

Colonel  Washmgton  with  his  cavalry  followed  in 
the  rear  as  a  corps  de  reserve. 

Two  three-pounders  moved  on  the  road  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  first  line.  Two  six-pounders  m  a  like  posi- 
tion m  the  second  line. 

In  this  order  the  troops  moved  forward,  keepmg 
their  lines  as  well  as  they  could  through  open  woods, 
which  covered  the  country  on  each  side  of  the  road. 

Within  a  mile  of  the  camp  they  encountered  a 
body  of  infantry  thrown  forward  by  Colonel  Stuart,  to 
check  their  advance  while  he  had  time  to  form  his 
troops  in  order  of  battle.  These  were  drawn  up  m 
Ime  m  a  wood  two  hundred  yards  west  of  Eutaw 
Springs.  The  right  rested  on  Eutaw  Creek  (or  brook), 
and  was  covered  by  a  battalion  of  grenadiers  and 
infantry  under  Major  Majoribanks,  partly  concealed 
among  thickets  on  the  margin  of  the  stream.  The  left 
of  the  Ime  extended  across  the  Charleston  road,  with  a 
reserve  corps  in  a  commanding  situation  covering  the 
road.  About  fifty  yards  in  the  rear  of  the  British  line 
was  a  cleared  field,  in  which  was  their  encampment, 
with  the  tents  all  standing.  Adjoining  it  was  a  brick 
house  with  a  paHsadoed  garden,  which  Colonel  Stuart 
intended  as  a  protection,  if  too  much  pressed  by  cav- 
alry. 

The  advanced  party  of  infantry,  which  had  retired 
firing  before  the  Americans,  formed  on  the  flanks  of 
Colonel  Stuart*s  hne.  The  Carolinian  miUtia  had 
pressed  after  them.    About  nine  o'clock  the  action  was 


366  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

commenced  by  the  left  of  the  American  line,  and  soon 
became  general.  The  militia  fought  for  a  time  ^vith 
the  spirit  and  firmness  of  regulars.  Their  two  field- 
pieces  were  dismounted;  so  was  one  of  the  enemy's  ; 
and  there  was  great  carnage  on  both  sides.  The  mihtia 
fought  until  they  had  expended  seventeen  rounds, 
when  they  gave  way,  covered  by  Lee  and  Henderson 
who  fought  bravely  on  the  flanks  of  the  line. 

Sumner,  with  the  regulars  who  formed  the  second 
line,  advanced  in  fine  style  to  take  the  place  of  the 
first.  The  enemy  likewise  brought  their  reserve  into 
action ;  the  conflict  continued  to  be  bloody  and  severe. 
Colonel  Henderson,  who  commanded  the  State  troops 
in  the  second  hue,  was  severely  wounded ,  this  caused 
some  confusion.  Sumner's  bngade,  formed  partly  of 
recruits,  gave  way  under  the  superior  fire  of  the 
enemy.  The  British  rushed  forward  to  secure  their 
fancied  victory.  Greene,  seeing  theur  hue  disordered, 
instantly  ordered  Williams  with  his  Marylanders  to 
"sweep  the  field  with  the  bayonet."  Wilhams  was 
seconded  by  Colonel  Campbell  with  the  Virginians. 
The  order  was  gallantly  obeyed.  They  delivered  a 
deadly  volley  at  forty  yards'  distance,  and  then  advanced 
at  a  brisk  rate,  with  loud  shouts  and  trailed  arms,  pre- 
pared to  make  the  deadly  thrust.  The  British  recoiled. 
While  the  Marylanders  and  Virginians  attacked  them 
in  front,  Lee  with  his  legion  turned  their  left  flank 
and  charged  them  in  rear.  Colonel  Hampton  with  the 
State  cavalry  made  a  great  number  of  prisoners,  and 
Colonel  Washington,  coming  up  with  his  reserve  of 
horse  and  foot,  completed  their  defeat.  They  were 
driven  back  through  their  camp  ;  many  were  captured ; 


1T81.]  BATTLE   OF   EUTAW   SPRINGS.  367 

many  fled  along  the  Charleston  road,  and  others  threw 
themselves  into  the  brick  house. 

Major  Majoribanks  and  his  troops  could  still  enfi- 
lade the  left  flank  of  the  Americans  from  their  covert 
among  the  thickets  on  the  border  of  the  stream. 
Greene  ordered  Colonel  Washington  with  his  dragoons 
and  Kirkwood's  Delaware  infantry  to  dislodge  them, 
and  Colonel  Wade  Hampton  to  assist  with  the  State 
troops.  Colonel  Washington,  without  waiting  for  the 
infantry,  dashed  forward  with  his  dragoons.  It  was  a 
rash  move.  The  thickets  were  impervious  to  cavalry. 
The  dragoons  separated  into  small  squads,  and  endeav- 
ored to  force  their  way  in.  Horse  and  riders  were 
shot  down  or  bayoneted ;  most  of  the  officers  were 
either  killed  or  wounded.  Colonel  Washington  had 
his  horse  shot  under  him ,  he  himself  was  bayoneted, 
and  would  have  been  slain  had  not  a  British  officer  in- 
terposed, who  took  him  prisoner. 

By  the  time  Hampton  and  Kirkwood  came  up  the 
cavalry  were  routed ;  the  ground  was  strewed  with  the 
dead  and  the  wounded;  horses  were  plunging  and 
struggUng  in  the  agonies  of  death ;  others  galloping 
about  without  their  riders.  While  Hampton  rallied 
the  scattered  cavalry,  Kirkwood  with  his  Delawares 
charged  with  bayonet  upon  the  enemy  in  the  thickets. 
Majoribanks  fell  back  with  his  troops,  and  made  a 
stand  in  the  pahsadoed  garden  of  the  brick  house. 

Victory  now  seemed  certain  on  the  side  of  the 
Americans.  They  had  driven  the  British  from  the 
field,  and  had  taken  possession  of  their  camp ;  unfor- 
tunately the  soldiers  thinkmg  the  day  their  own  fell  to 
plundering  the  tents,  devouring  the  food  and  carousing 


368  LIFE  OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

on  the  liquors  found  there.  Many  of  them  became 
intoxicated  and  unmanageable — the  officers  interfered 
in  vam ;  all  was  riot  and  disorder. 

The  enemy  in  the  mean  time  recovered  from  their 
confusion,  and  opened  a  fire  from  every  window  of  the 
house  and  from  the  palisadoed  garden.  There  was  a 
scattering  fire  also  from  the  woods  and  thickets  on  the 
right  and  left.  Four  cannon,  one  of  which  had  been 
captured  from  the  enemy,  were  now  advanced  by  the 
Americans  to  batter  the  house.  The  fire  from  the 
windows  was  so  severe  that  most  of  the  officers  and 
men  who  served  the  cannon  were  either  killed  or 
wounded.  Greene  ordered  the  survivors  to  retire; 
they  did  so,  leaving  the  cannon  behind. 

Colonel  Stuart  was  by  this  time  rallying  his  left 
wing  and  advancing  to  support  the  right ;  when  Greene, 
finding  his  ammunition  nearly  exhausted,  determined 
to  give  up  the  attempt  to  dislodge  the  enemy  from 
their  places  of  refuge,  since  he  could  not  do  it  without 
severe  loss ;  whereas  the  enemy  could  maintain  their 
posts  but  a  few  hours,  and  he  should  have  a  better 
opportunity  of  attacking  them  on  their  retreat. 

He  remained  on  the  ground  long  enough  to  collect 
his  wounded,  excepting  those  who  were  too  much 
under  the  fire  of  the  house,  and  then,  leaving  Colonel 
Hampton  with  a  strong  picket  on  the  field,  he  returned 
to  the  position  seven  miles  ofi",  which  he  had  left  in  the 
morning ;  not  finding  water  any  where  nearer. 

The  enemy  decamped  in  the  night  after  destro}Tng 
a  large  quantity  of  provisions,  staving  many  barrels  of 
rum,  and  breaking  upwards  of  a  thousand  stand  of 
arms  which  they  threw  into  the  springs  of  the  Eutaw ; 


'1781.]  BATTLE   OF   EUTAW   SPRINGS.  369 

they  left  beliind  also  seventy  of  their  wounded  who 
might  have  impeded  the  celerity  of  their  retreat. 
Their  loss  in  killed,  wounded,  and  captured  in  this 
action  was  six  hundred  and  thirty-three,  of  whom  five 
hundred  were  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  Ameri- 
cans ;  the  loss  sustained  by  the  latter  m  killed,  wounded 
and  missing,  was  five  hundred  and  thirty -five.  One  of 
the  slain  most  deplored  was  Colonel  Campbell,  who  had 
so  bravely  led  on  the  Virginians.  He  fell  in  the  shock 
of  the  charge  with  the  bayonet.  It  was  a  glorious 
close  of  a  gallant  career  In  his  dying  moments  he 
was  told  of  the  defeat  of  the  enemy,  and  is  said  to 
have  uttered  the  celebrated  ejaculation  of  General 
Wolfe,  ''  I  die  contented." 

In  the  morning  General  Greene,  who  knew  not  that 
the  enemy  had  decamped,  detached  Lee  and  Marion  to 
scour  the  country  between  Eutaw  Springs  and  Charles- 
ton, to  intercept  any  reinforcements  which  might  be 
coming  to  Colonel  Stuart  and  to  retard  the  march  of 
the  latter  should  he  be  retreating.  Stuart,  however, 
had  met  with  reinforcements  about  fourteen  miles  from 
Eutaw,  but  continued  his  retreat  to  Monk's  Corner 
within  twenty-five  miles  of  Charleston. 

Greene,  when  informed  of  the  retreat,  had  followed 
with  his  mam  force  almost  to  Monk's  Corner :  finding 
the  number  and  position  of  the  enemy  too  strong  to  be 
attacked  with  prudence,  he  fell  back  to  Eutaw,  where 
he  remained  a  day  or  two  to  rest  his  troops,  and  then 
returned  by  easy  marches  to  his  old  position  near  the 
heights  of  Santee. 

Thence,  as  usual,  he   despatched  an  account  of 

afiairs  to  Washington.     "  Since  I  wrote  to  you  before 
VOL.  IV. — 24 


370  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

we  have  had  a  most  bloody  battle.  It  was  by  far  the 
most  obstinate  fight  I  ever  saw  Victory  was  ours ; 
and  had  it  not  been  for  one  of  those  httlc  incidents 
which  frequently  happen  in  the  progress  of  war,  we 
should  have  taken  the  whole  British  army.  *  *  * 
I  am  trying  to  collect  a  body  of  militia  to  oppose 
Lord  Cornwallis  should  he  attempt  to  escape  through 
North  Carolina  to  Charleston.  Charleston  itself  may 
be  reduced  if  you  will  bend  your  forces  this  way,  and 
it  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to  join  your  Excellency 
in  the  attempt ;  for  I  shall  be  equally  happy,  whether 
as  a  principal  or  subordinate,  so  that  the  pubhc  good 
is  promoted." 

Such  was  the  purport  of  the  intelhgence  received 
from  Greene.  Washington  considered  the  aifair  at 
Eutaw  Spnngs  a  victory,  and  sent  Greene  his  congratu- 
lations. "Fortune,"  writes  he,  "must  have  ))een 
coy  indeed,  had  she  not  yielded  at  last  to  so  persevering 
a  pursuer  as  you  have  been." 

"  I  can  say  with  smcenty,  that  I  feel  witli  the 
highest  degree  of  pleasure  the  good  eflPects  which  you 
mention  as  resulting  from  the  perfect  good  understand- 
ing between  you,  the  marquis  and  myself.  I  hope  it 
will  never  be  interrupted,  and  I  am  sure  it  never  can 
be  while  we  are  all  influenced  by  the  same  pure  motive, 
that  of  love  to  our  country  and  interest  in  the  cause  in 
which  we  are  embarked." 

We  will  now  resume  our  narrative  of  the  siege  of 
Yorktown. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

SIEGE     AND     STTRRKNDEB     OF     TOEKTO"WN. 

General  Lincoln  had  the  honor,  on  the  night  of  the 
6th  of  October,  of  opening  the  first  parallel  before 
Yorktown.  It  was  within  six  hundred  yards  of  the 
enemy  ;  nearly  two  miles  m  extent,  and  the  foundations 
were  laid  for  two  redoubts.  He  had  under  him  a  large 
detachment  of  Erench  and  American  troops,  and  the 
work  was  conducted  with  such  silence  and  secrecy  in  a 
night  of  extreme  darkness,  that  the  enemy  were  not 
aware  of  it  until  daylight.  A  severe  cannonade  was 
then  opened  from  the  fortifications  ;  but  the  men  were 
under  cover  and  continued  working ;  the  greatest  emu- 
lation and  good  will  prevailing  between  the  officers  and 
soldiers  of  the  allied  armies  thus  engaged. 

By  the  afternoon  of  the  9  th  the  parallel  was  com- 
pleted, and  two  or  three  batteries  were  ready  to  fire 
upon  the  town.  "  General  Washington  put  the  match 
to  the  first  gun,"  says  an  observer  who  was  present ; 
"  a  furious  discharge  of  cannon  and  mortars  immedi- 
ately followed,  and  Earl  Cornwallis  received  his  first 
salutation."  * 

*  Thacher  s  Military  Jovirnal 


872  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781 

Governor  Nelson,  who  had  so  nobly  pledged  his 
own  property  to  raise  funds  for  the  pubUc  service,  gave 
another  proof  of  his  self-sacrificing  patriotism  on  this 
occasion.  He  was  asked  which  part  of  the  town  could 
be  most  effectively  cannonaded.  He  pointed  to  a  large 
handsome  house  on  a  rising  ground  as  the  probable 
head-quarters  of  the  enemy.   It  proved  to  be  his  own.* 

The  governor  had  an  uncle  in  the  town,  very  old, 
and  afflicted  with  the  gout.  He  had' been  for  thirty 
years  secretary  under  the  royal  colonial  government, 
and'  was  still  called  Mr.  Secretary  Nelson.  He  had 
taken  no  part  m  the  Revolution,  unfitted  perhaps  for 
the  struggle,  by  his  advanced  age  and  his  mfimiities , 
and  had  remained  in  Yorktown  when  taken  possession 
of  by  the  English,  not  having  any  personal  enmity  to 
apprehend  from  them.  He  had  two  sons  in  Washing- 
ton's army,  who  now  were  in  the  utmost  alarm  for  his 
safety  At  their  request  Washington  sent  in  a  flag, 
desiring  that  their  father  might  be  permitted  to  leave 
the  place.  "  I  was  a  witness,"  writes  the  Count  de 
Chastellux  in  his  Memoirs,  "  of  the  cruel  anxiety  of 
one  of  those  young  men,  as  he  kept  his  eyes  fixed  upon 
the  gate  of  the  town  by  which  the  flag  would  come 
out.  It  seemed  as  if  he  were  awaiting  his  own  sen- 
tence in  the  reply  that  was  to  be  jeceived.  Lord 
ComwaUis  had  not  the  inhumanity  to  refuse  so  just  a 
request." 

The  appearance  of  the  venerable  secretary,  his 
stately  person,  noble  countenance  and  gray  hairs,  com- 
manded respect  and  veneration.     "  I  can  never  recall 

*  Glvott  on  the  authority  of  Lafkyette.     Sparks,  viii.  201. 


1T81.]  THE   CANNONADE.  373 

without  emotion,"  writes  the  susceptible  count,  "his 
arrival  at  the  head-quarters  of  General  Washington. 
He  was  seated,  his  attack  of  the  gout  still  continuing, 
and  while  we  stood  around  him  he  related  with  a 
serene  visage,  what  had  been  the  effect  of  our  bat- 
teries." * 

His  house  had  received  some  of  the  first  shots ; 
one  of  his  negroes  had  been  killed,  and  the  head-quar- 
ters of  Lord  Cornwallis  had  been  so  battered  that  he 
had  been  driven  out  of  them. 

The  cannonade  was  kept  up  almost  incessantly  for 
three  or  four  days  from  the  batteries  above  mentioned, 
and  from  three  others  managed  by  the  French.  "  Being 
in  the  trenches  every  other  night  and  day,"  writes  an 
observer  already  quoted,f  "  I  have  a  fine  opportunity 
of  witnessing  the  sublime  and  stupendous  scene  which 
is  continually  exhibiting  The  bomb-shells  from  the 
besiegers  and  the  besieged  are  incessantly  crossing 
each  other's  -path  in  the  air.  They  are  clearly  visible  in 
the  form  of  a  black  ball  in  the  day,  but  m  the  night 
they  appear  like  a  fiery  meteor  with  a  blazing  tail,  most 
beautifully  brilhant,  ascending  majestically  from  the 
mortar  to  a  certain  altitude,  and  gradually  descending 
to  the  spot  where  they  are  destined  to  execute  their 
work  of  destruction.  When  a  shell  falls  it  whirls 
round,  burrows  and  excavates  the  earth  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  and,  bursting,  makes  di-eadful  havoc 
around."  "  Some  of  our  shells,  over-reaching  the 
town,  are  seen  to  fall  into  the  river,  and  bursting, 
throw  up  columns  of  water  like  the  spouting  monsters 
of  the  deep."  ^ 

*  Chastellux,  toI.  ii.  p.  19 — 23.  f  Thacher. 


374  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

The  half-finished  works  of  the  enemy  suffered 
severely,  the  guns  were  dismounted  or  silenced,  and 
many  men  killed.  The  red-hot  shot  from  the  French 
batteries  northwest  of  the  town  reached  the  English 
shippmg.  The  Charon,  a  forty-four  gun  ship,  and 
three  large  transports  were  set  on  fire  by  them.  The 
flames  ran  up  the  ngging  to  the  tops  of  the  masts. 
The  conflagration,  seen  in  the  darkness  of  the  night, 
with  the  accompanymg  flash  and  thundering  of  can- 
non, and  soaring  and  bursting  of  shells,  and  the 
tremendous  explosions  of  the  ships,  all  presented  a 
scene  of  mingled  magnificence  and  lion-or. 

On  the  night  of  the  11th  the  second  parallel  was 
opened  by  the  Baron  Steuben's  division  within  three 
hundred  yards  of  the  works.  The  British  now  made 
new  embrasures,  and  for  two  or  three  days  kept  up  a 
galling  fire  upon  those  at  work.  The  latter  were  stiU 
more  annoyed  by  the  flanking  fire  of  two  redoubts, 
three  hundred  yards  in  fi'ont  of  the  British  works. 
As  they  enfiladed  the  mtrenchments,  and  were  sup- 
posed also  to  command  the  communication  between 
Yorktown  and  Gloucester,  it  was  resolved  to  storm 
them  both,  on  the  night  of  the  14th ;  the  one  nearest 
the  river  by  a  detachment  of  Americans  commanded 
by  Lafayette ;  the  other  by  a  French  detachment  led 
by  the  Baron  de  Viomenil.  The  grenadiers  of  the 
regiment  of  Gatinais  were  to  be  at  the  head  of  the 
French  detachment.  This  regiment  had  been  formed 
out  of  that  of  Auvergne,  of  which  De  Rochambeau 
had  been  colonel,  and  which,  by  its  brave  and  honor- 
able conduct  had  won  the  appellation  of  the  regiment 
M Auvergne  sans  tache  (Auvergne  without  a  stain). 


1781.]  ATTACK   ON    THE    REDOUBTS.  375 

When  De  Rochambeau  assigned  the  Gatinais  grena- 
diers their  post  in  the  attack,  he  addressed  to  them  a  few 
soldier-hke  words.  "  My  lads,  I  have  need  of  you  this 
night,  and  hope  you  will  not  forget  that  we  have  served 
together  in  that  brave  regiment  of  Auvergne  sans 
tache."  They  instantly  replied  that  if  he  would  prom- 
ise to  get  their  old  name  restored  to  them  they  would 
sacrifice  themselves  to  the  last  man.  The  promise  was 
given. 

In  the  arrangements  for  the  American  assault,  La- 
fayette had  given  the  honor  of  leading  the  advance  to 
his  oAvn  aide-de-camp,  Lieutenant-colonel  Gimat.  This 
instantly  touched  the  mUitary  pride  of  Hamilton,  who 
exclaimed  against  it  as  an  unjust  preference,  it  being 
his  tour  of  duty.  The  marquis  excused  himself  by 
alleging  that  the  arrangement  had  been  sanctioned  by 
the  commander-in-chief,  and  could  not  be  changed  by 
him.  Hamilton  forthwith  made  a  spirited  appeal  by 
letter  to  Washington.  The  latter,  who  was  ignorant 
of  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  sent  for  the  marquis, 
and,  findmg  that  it  really  was  Hamilton's  tour  of  duty, 
directed  that  he  should  be  reinstated  in  it,  which  was 
done.*  It  was  therefore  arranged  that  Colonel  Gimat 's 
battalion  should  lead  the  van  and  be  followed  by  that 
of  Hamilton,  and  that  the  latter  should  command  the 
whole  advanced  corps. f 

About  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  rockets  were 
sent  up  as  signals  for  the  simultaneous  attacks.  Hamil- 
ton to  hi^  great  joy  led  the  advance  of  the  Americans. 
The  men,  without  waiting  for  the  sappers  to  demolish 

*  Lee's  Memoirs  of  the  War,  ii.  342. 

f  Lafayette  to  Washington.    Correspondence  of  the  Rev.  iii.  426. 


376  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

the  abatis  in  regular  style,  pushed  them  aside  or  pulled 
them  down  with  their  hands,  and  scrambled  over,  hke 
rough  bush  fighters.  Hamilton  was  the  first  to  mount 
the  parapet,  placing  one  foot  on  the  shoulder  of  a 
soldier,  who  knelt  on  one  knee  for  the  purpose.*  The 
men  mounted  after  him.  Not  a  musket  was  fired. 
The  redoubt  was  carried  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 
The  loss  of  the  Americans  was  one  sergeant  and  eight 
privates  killed,  seven  officers  and  twenty-five  non-com- 
missioned officers  and  privates  wounded.  The  loss  of 
the  enemy  was  eight  killed  and  seventeen  taken  prison- 
ers. Among  the  latter  was  Major  Campbell,  who  had 
commanded  the  redoubt.  A  New  Hampshire  captain 
of  artillery  would  have  taken  his  life  in  revenge  of  the 
death  of  his  favorite  Colonel  Scammel,  but  Colonel 
Hamilton  prevented  him.  Not  a  man  was  killed  after 
he  ceased  to  resist. f 

The  French  stormed  the  other  redoubt,  which  was 
more  strongly  gamsoned,  with  equal  gallantry,  but  less 
precipitation.  They  proceeded  according  to  rule.  The 
soldiers  paused  while  the  sappers  removed  the  abatis, 
during  which  time  they  were  exposed  to  a  destructive 
fire,  and  lost  more  men  than  did  the  Americans  in  their 
headlong  attack.  As  the  Baron  de  Viomenil,  who  led 
the  party,  was  thus  waiting.  Major  Barbour,  Lafayette's 


*  Leake's  Life  of  John  Lamb,  p.  259. 

t  Thacher,  p.  341. 

N.B. — Gordon,  in  his  history  of  the  war,  asserts  that  Lafajette,  with  the 
consent  of  Washington,  ordered  that,  in  capturing  the  redoubt,  no  quarter 
should  be  shown  ;  in  retaliation  of  a  massacre  perpetrated  at  Fort  Griswold. 
It  is  needless  to  contradict  a  statement  so  opposed  to  the  characters  of  both. 
It  has  been  denied  by  both  Lafayette  and  Hamilton.  Not  one  of  the  enemy 
was  killed  unless  in  action. 


1781.]  ATTACK   ON   THE   REDOUBTS,  377 

aide-de-camp,  came  througli  the  tremendous  fire  of  the 
enemy,  with  a  message  from  the  marquis,  letting  him 
know  that  he  was  in  his  redoubt  and  wished  to  know 
where  the  baron  was.  *'  Tell  the  marquis,"  replied  the 
latter,  "  that  I  am  not  in  mine,  but  will  be  in  it  m  five 
minutes." 

The  abatis  being  removed,  the  troops  rushed  to  the 
assault.  The  Chevalier  de  Lameth,  Lafayette's  adju- 
tant-general, was  the  first  to  mount  the  parapet  of  the 
redoubt,  and  received  a  volley  at  arms'  length  from  the 
Hessians  who  manned  it.  Shot  through  both  knees  he 
fell  back  into  the  ditch,  and  was  conveyed  away  under 
care  of  his  friend,  the  Count  de  Dumas.  The  Count 
de  Deuxponts,  leading  on  the  royal  grenadiers  of  the 
same  name,  was  Ukewise  wounded. 

The  grenadiers  of  the  Gatinais  regiment  remem- 
bered the  promise  of  De  Rochambeau,  and  fought  with 
true  Gallic  fire.  One  third  of  them  were  slain,  and 
among  them  Captain  de  Sireuil,  a  valiant  officer  of  chas- 
seurs ;  but  the  regiment  by  its  bravery  on  this  occasion 
regained  from  the  king  its  proud  name  of  the  Roi/dl 
Auvergne. 

Washington  was  an  intensely  excited  spectator  of 
these  assaults,  on  the  result  of  which  so  much  de- 
pended. He  had  dismounted,  given  his  horse  to  a 
servant,  and  taken  his  stand  in  the  grand  battery  with 
Generals  Knox  and  Lincoln  and  their  staffs.  The  risk 
he  ran  of  a  chance  shot,  while  watching  the  attack 
through  an  embrasure,  made  those  about  him  mieasy. 
One  of  his  aides-de-camp  ventured  to  observe  that  the 
situation  was  very  much  exposed.  "  If  you  think  so," 
replied  he  e^ravely,  "  you  are  at  liberty  to  step  back." 


378  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

Shortly  afterwards  a  musket  ball  struck  the  cannon 
in  the  embrasure,  rolled  along  it  and  fell  at  his  feet. 
General  Knox  grasped  his  arm.  "  My  dear  general/' 
exclaimed  he,  "  we  can't  spare  you  yet."  "  It  is  a 
spent  ball,"  repHed  Washington  quietly ;  "  no  harm  is 
done." 

When  all  was  over  and  the  redoubts  were  taken,  he 
drew  a  long  breath,  and  turning  to  Knox  observed, 
"  The  work  is  done,  and  well  done  I  "  Then  called  to 
his  servant,  "  William,  bring  me  my  horse." 

In  his  despatches  he  declared  that  in  these  assaults 
nothing  could  exceed  the  firmness  and  bravery  of  the 
troops.  Lafayette  also  testified  to  the  conduct  of 
Colonel  Hamilton,  "  whose  well-known  talents  and  gal- 
lantry," writes  he,  "  were  on  this  occasion  most  con- 
spicuous and  serviceable."  * 

The  redoubts  thus  taken  were  included  the  same 
night  in  the  second  parallel,  and  howitzers  were  mounted 
upon  them  the  following  day.  The  capture  of  them 
reduced  Lord  Comwallis  almost  to  despair.  Writing 
that  same  day  to  Sir  Henry  Chnton,  he  observes,  "  my 
situation  now  becomes  very  critical ;  we  dare  not  show 
a  gun  to  their  old  batteries,  and  I  expect  that  their 
new  ones  will  open  to-morrow  morning  *  *  * 
The  safety  of  the  place  is,  therefore,  so  precarious,  that 
I  cannot  recommend  that  the  fleet  and  army  should 
run  great  risk  in  endeavoring  to  save  us," — a  generous 
abnegation  of  self  on  the  part  of  the  beleaguered  com- 
mander. Had  the  fleet  and  army  sailed,  as  he  had 
been  given  to  expect,   about  the   5th   of   October, 

*  Lafayette  to  Washiagton.     Cor.  of  the  Rev.  iiL  426. 


1781.]     DESPERATE   SITUATION    OF   CORNWALLIS.        379 

they  might  have  arrived  in  time  to  save  his  lordship  ; 
but  at  the  date  of  the  above  letter  they  were  still  Im- 
gering  in  port.  Delay  of  naval  succor  was  fatal  to 
British  operations  in  this  war. 

The  second  parallel  was  now  nearly  ready  to  open. 
ComwalUs  dreaded  the  effect  of  its  battenes  on  his 
ahnost  dismantled  works.  To  retard  the  danger  as 
much  as  possible,  he  ordered  an  attack  on  two  of  the 
batteries  that  were  in  the  greatest  state  of  forwardness, 
their  guns  to  be  spiked.  It  was  made  a  little  before 
daybreak  of  the  16th  by  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  under  the  direction  of  Lieutenant-colonel  Aber- 
crombie.  He  divided  his  forces ;  a  detachment  of 
guards  and  a  company  of  grenadiers  attacked  one 
battery,  and  a  corps  of  light  infantry  the  other. 

The  redoubts  which  covered  the  battenes  were 
forced  in  gallant  style,  and  several  pieces  of  artillery 
hastily  spiked.  By  this  time  the  supporting  troops 
from  the  trenches  came  up,  and  the  enemy  were  obliged 
to  retreat,  leaving  behind  them  seven  or  eight  dead  and 
SIX  prisoners.  The  French  who  had  guard  of  this  part 
of  the  trenches,  had  four  officers  and  twelve  privates 
killed  or  wounded,  and  the  Amencans  lost  one  ser- 
geant. The  mischief  had  been  done  too  hastily.  The 
spikes  were  easily  extracted,  and  before  evening  all  the 
batteries  and  the  parallel  were  nearly  complete. 

At  this  time  the  garrison  could  not  show  a  gun  on 
the  side  of  the  works  exposed  to  attack,  and  the  shells 
were  nearly  expended ;  the  place  was  no  longer  tenable. 
Rather  than  surrender,  ComwaUis  determined  to  at- 
tempt an  escape.  His  plan  was  to  leave  his  sick  and 
wounded  and  his  baggage  behind,  cross  over  in  the 


380  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781 

night  to  Gloucester  Point,  attack  Choisy's  camp  before 
daybreak,  mount  his  infantry  on  the  captured  cavalry 
horses,  and  on  such  other  as  could  be  collected  on  the 
road,  push  for  the  upper  country  by  rapid  marches 
until  opposite  the  fords  of  the  great  rivers,  then  turn 
suddenly  northward,  force  his  way  through  Maryland, 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  Jerseys,  and  join  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  in  New  York. 

It  was  a  wild  and  daring  scheme,  but  his  situation 
was  desperate,  and  the  idea  of  surrender  intolerable. 

In  pursuance  of  this  design  sixteen  large  boats 
were  secretly  prepared;  a  detachment  was  appointed* to 
remain  and  capitulate  for  the  town's  people,  the  sick 
and  the  wounded ;  a  large  part  of  the  troops  were  trans- 
ported to  the  Gloucester  side  of  the  river  before  mid- 
night, and  the  second  division  had  actually  embarked, 
when  a  violent  storm  of  wind  and  ram  scattered  the 
boats  and  drove  them  a  considerable  distance  down  the 
river.  They  were  collected  with  difficulty  It  was 
now  too  late  to  effect  the  passage  of  the  second  divi- 
sion before  daybreak,  and  an  effort  was  made  to  get 
back  the  division  which  had  already  crossed.  It  was 
not  done  until  the  morning  was  far  advanced,  and  the 
troops  in  recrossmg  were  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the 
American  batteries. 

The  hopes  of  Lord  ComwaUis  were  now  at  an  end. 
His  works  were  tumbling  in  ruins  about  him,  under 
an  incessant  cannonade ;  his  garrison  was  reduced  in 
number  by  sickness  and  death,  and  exhausted  by  con- 
stant watching  and  severe  duty.  Umvilling  to  expose 
the  residue  of  the  brave  troops  which  had  stood  by  him 
so  faithfully,  to  the  dangers  and  horrors  of  an  assault. 


1V81.]  CAPITULATION.  381 

which  could  not  fail  to  be  successful,  he  ordered  a 
parley  to  be  beaten  about  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  17th,  and  despatched  a  flag  with  a  letter  to 
Washington  proposing  a  cessation  of  hostilities  for 
twenty-four  hours,  and  that  two  officers  might  be 
appointed  by  each  side  to  meet  and  settle  terms  for  the 
surrender  of  the  posts  of  York  and  Gloucester. 

Washington  felt  unwilling  to  grant  such  delay, 
when  reinforcements  might  be  on  the  way  for  Corn- 
wallis  from  New  York.  In  reply,  therefore,  he  re- 
quested that,  previous  to  the  meeting  of  commission- 
ers, his  lordship's  proposals  might  be  sent  in  writing  to 
the  American  lines,  for  which  pui'pose  a  suspension  of 
hostilities,  during  two  hours  from  the  delivery  of  the 
letter,  would  be  granted.  This  was  complied  with, 
but  as  the  proposals  offered  by  Cornwallis  were  not  all 
admissible,  Washington  drew  up  a  schedule  of  such 
terms  as  he  would  grant,  and  transmitted  it  to  his  lord- 
ship. 

The  armistice  was  prolonged.  Commissioners  met, 
the  Viscount  de  Noailles  and  Lieutenant-colonel  Lau- 
rens on  the  part  of  the  allies :  Colonel  Dundas  and 
Major  Ross  on  the  part  of  the  British.  After  much 
discussion,  a  rough  draught  was  made  of  the  terms 
of  capitulation  to  be  submitted  to  the  British  general. 
These  Washington  caused  to  be  promptly  transcribed 
and  sent  to  Lord  Cornwallis  early  in  the  morning  of 
the  19  th,  with  a  note  expressing  his  expectation  that 
they  would  be  signed  by  eleven  o'clock,  and  that  the 
garrison  would  be  ready  to  march  out  by  two  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon.  Lord  Comwalhs  was  fain  to  comply, 
and,  accordingly,  on  the  same  day,  the  posts  of  Yorktown 


382  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

and  Gloucester  were  surrendered  to  General  Washing- 
ton as  commander-m-chief  of  the  combined  army ;  and 
the  ships  of  war,  transports  and  other  vessels  to  the 
Count  de  Grasse,  as  commander  of  the  French  fleet. 
The  garrison  of  Yorktown  and  Gloucester,  includmg  the 
officers  of  the  navy  and  seamen  of  every  denommation, 
were  to  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war  to  the  combmed 
army  ,  the  land  force  to  remain  prisoners  to  the  Umted 
States,  the  seamen  to  the  King  of  France. 

The  garrison  was  to  be  allowed  the  same  honors 
granted  to  the  garrison  of  Charleston  when  it  surren- 
dered to  Su*  Henry  Chnton.  The  officers  were  to 
retam  their  side  arms ;  both  officers  and  soldiers  their 
private  property,  and  no  part  of  their  baggage  or 
papers  was  to  be  subject  to  search  or  inspection.  The 
soldiers  were  to  be  kept  in  Virginia,  Maryland,  or 
Pennsylvania,  as  much  by  regiments  as  possible,  and 
supplied  with  the  same  rations  of  provisions  as  the 
American  soldiers.  The  officers  were  to  be  permitted 
to  proceed,  upon  parole,  to  Europe  or  to  any  maritime 
port  on  the  continent  of  America  in  possession  of 
British  troops.  The  Bonetta  sloop-of-war  was  to  be  at 
the  disposal  of  Lord  Comwalhs ;  to  convey  an  aide-de- 
camp,  with  despatches  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  such 

NOTE. 

The  number  of  prisoners  made  by  the  above  capitulation  amounted  to  7,073, 
of  whom  5,950  were  rank  and  file,  six  commissioned,  and  twentj-eight  non- 
commissioned officers,  and  privates,  had  previously  been  captured  in  the  two  re- 
doubts, or  in  the  sortie  of  the  garrison.  The  loss  sustained  by  the  garrison 
during  the  siege,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,,amounted  to  552.  That  of 
the  combined  army  in  killed  was  about  300.  The  combined  army  to  which 
Comwallis  surrendered,  was  estimated  at  16,000,  of  whom  7000  were  French, 
5,500  continentals,  and  8,500  militia. — Hdme^  Annals,  toL  2,  p.  333. 


1781.]  SUBMISSION    OP   THE  ROTAL   ARMY.  383 

soldiers  as  he  might  think  proper  to  send  to  New 
York,  and  was  to  sail  without  examination.  (We  will 
here  observe  that  in  this  vessel,  thus  protected  from 
scrutiny,  a  number  of  royalists,  whose  conduct  had 
rendered  them  peculiarly  odious  to  their  countrymen, 
privately  took  their  departure.) 

It  was  arranged  in  the  allied  camp  that  General 
Lincoln  should  receive  the  submission  of  the  royal 
army,  precisely  in  the  manner  in  which  the  submission 
of  his  own  army  had  been  received  on  the  surrender 
of  Charleston.  An  eye  witness  has  given  us  a  graphic 
description  of  the  ceremony. 

"  At  about  12  o'clock  the  combined  army  was  drawn 
up  in  two  lines  more  than  a  mile  in  length,  the  Ameri- 
cans on  the  right  side  of  the  road,  the  Prench  on  the  left. 
Washington,  mounted  on  a  noble  steed,  and  attended 
by  his  staff,  was  in  front  of  the  former ;  the  Count  de 
Rochambeau  and  his  suite,  of  the  latter.  The  French 
troops,  in  complete  uniform,  and  well  equipped,  made 
a  brilliant  appearance,  and  had  marched  to  the  ground 
vi^th  a  band  of  music  playing,  which  was  a  novelty  in 
the  American  service.  The  American  troops,  but  part 
in  uniform,  and  all  in  garments  much  the  worse  for 
wear,  yet  had  a  spirited  soldier-like  air,  and  were  not 
the  worse  m  the  eyes  of  their  countrymen  for  bearing 
the  marks  of  hard  service  and  great  privations.  The 
concourse  of  spectators  from  the  country  seemed  equal 
in  number  to  the  military,  yet  silence  and  order  pre- 
vailed. 

About  two  o'clock  the  garrison  sallied  forth,  and 
passed  through  with  shouldered  arms,  slow  and  solemn 
step,  colors  cased,  and  drums  beating  a  British  march. 


384  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

They  were  all  well  clad,  having  been  furnished  with 
new  suits  prior  to  the  capitulation.  They  were  led  by 
General  O'Hara  on  horseback,  who,  riding  up  to  Gen- 
eral Washington,  took  off  his  hat  and  apologized  for 
the  non-appearance  of  Lord  Cornwalhs,  on  account  of 
indisposition.  Washington  received  him  with  dignified 
courtesy,  but  pointed  to  Major-general  Lincoln  as  the 
officer  who  was  to  receive  the  submission  of  the  garri- 
son. By  him  they  were  conducted  into  a  field  where 
they  were  to  ground  their  arms.  In  passing  through 
the  line  formed  by  the  allied  army,  their  march  was 
careless  and  irregular  and  their  aspect  sullen,  the  order 
to  "  ground  arms,"  was  given  by  their  platoon  officers 
with  a  tone  of  deep  chagrin,  and  many  of  the  soldiers 
threw  down  their  muskets  with  a  violence  sufficient  to 
break  them.  This  irregularity  was  checked  by  General 
Lincoln ;  yet  it  was  excusable  in  brave  men  in  their 
unfortunate  predicament.  This  ceremony  over,  they 
were  conducted  back  to  Yorktown,  to  remain  under 
guard  until  removed  to  their  places  of  destination."  * 

On  the  following  morning,  Washington  in  general 
orders  congratulated  the  allied  armies  on  the  recent 
victory,  awarding  high  praise  to  the  officers  and  troops 
both  French  and  American,  for  their  conduct  during 
the  siege,  and  specifying  by  name  several  of  the  generals 
and  other  officers  who  had  especially  distingmshed 
themselves.  All  those  of  his  army  who  were  under 
arrest  were  pardoned  and  set  at  liberty.  "Divine  ser- 
vice," it  was  added,  "  is  to  be  performed  to-morrow  in 
the  several  brigades  and  divisions.     The  commander- 

•  Thacher,  p.  346. 


1781.]  TARDY   MOVEMENTS    OF   CLINTON.  385 

in-chief  earnestly  recommends  that  the  troops,  not  on 
duty,  should  universally  attend,  with  that  seriousness 
of  deportment  and  gratitude  of  heart  which  the  recog- 
nition of  such  reiterated  and  astonishing  interpositions 
of  Providence  demands  of  us." 

Cornwallis  felt  deeply  the  humiliation  of  this  close 
to  all  his  wide  and  wild  campaigning,  and  was  made  the 
more  sensitive  on  the  subject  by  circumstances  of 
which  he  soon  became  apprised.  On  the  very  day 
that  he  had  been  compelled  to  lay  down  his  arms 
before  Yorktown,  the  lingering  armament  intended  for 
his  relief,  sailed  from  New  York.  It  consisted  of 
twenty-five  ships  of  the  line,  two-fifty  gun  ships  and 
eight  frigates ;  with  Sir  Henry  Clinton  and  seven  thou- 
sand of  his  best  troops.  Sir  Henry  arrived  off  the 
Capes  of  Virginia  on  the  24th,  and  gathered  informa- 
tion which  led  him  to  apprehend  that  Lord  ComwalHs 
had  capitulated.  He  hovered  off  the  mouth  of  the 
Chesapeake  until  the  29th,  when,  having  fully  ascer- 
tained that  he  had  come  too  late,  he  turned  his  tardy 
prows  toward  New  York. 

Cornwallis  in  a  letter  written  subsequently,  renders 
the  following  testimony  to  the  conduct  of  his  captors. 
"The  treatment,  in  general,  that  we  have  received 
from  the  enemy  since  our  surrender  has  been  perfectly 
good  and  proper ;  but  the  kindness  and  attention  that 
has  been  shown  to  us  by  the  French  officers  m  particu- 
lar, their  delicate  sensibility  of  our  situation,  their 
generous  and  pressuig  offer  of  money,  both  public  and 
private,  to  any  amount,  has  really  gone  beyond  what  I 
can  possibly  describe,  and  will,  I  hope,  make  an  impres- 

voL.  IV. — 25 


386  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

sion  in  the  breast  of  every  oiRcer,  whenever  the  fortune 
of  war  should  put  any  of  them  into  our  power." 

In  the  mean  time  the  rejoiemgs  which  Washmgton 
had  commenced  with  appropriate  solemnities  in  the 
victorious  camp,  had  spread  throughout  the  Union. 
"  CornwalUs  is  taken !  "  was  the  universal  acclaim. 
It  was  considered  a  death-blow  to  the  war. 

Congress  gave  way  to  transports  of  joy.  Thanks 
were  voted  to  the  commander-in-chief,  to  the  Counts 
De  Rocharabeau  and  De  Grasse,  to  the  officers  of  the 
allied  armies  generally,  and  to  the  corps  of  artillery  and 
engineers  especially  Two  stands  of  colors,  trophies  of 
the  capitulation,  were  voted  to  Washington,  two  pieces 
of  field  ordnance  to  De  Rochambeau  and  De  Grasse ; 
and  it  was  decreed  that  a  marble  column,  commem- 
orative of  the  alliance  between  France  and  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  victory  achieved  by  their  associated 
arms,  should  be  erected  in  Yorktown.  Finally,  Con- 
gress issued  a  proclamation  appointing  a  day  for  gen- 
eral thanksgiving  and  prayer,  m  acknowledgment  of 
this  signal  interposition  of  Divine  Providence. 

Far  different  was  the  feeling  of  the  British  ministry 
when  news  of  the  event  reached  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  Lord  George  Germain  was  the  first  to  an- 
nounce it  to  Lord  North  at  his  office  in  Downing 
street.  "And  how  did  he  take  it?"  was  the  inquiry. 
"  As  he  would  have  taken  a  ball  m  the  breast,"  rephed 
Lord  George,  "  for  he  opened  his  arms,  exclaiming 
wildly  as  he  paced  up  and  down  the  apartment,  *  Oh 
God!  it  is  aU  over!'"* 

*  Wraxall's  Historical  Memoirs,  vol,  ii.  p.  99, 


CHAPTER   XXIX, 

DISSOLUTION  OF  THE  OOMBIKED  ARMIES — WASHTKQTON  A.T  EF.TnAM — 
DEATH  OF  JOHN  PABKE  CUSTI8 — WASHINGTON  AT  MOUNT  VEKNON — 
OORKESPONDENCE  ABOUT  THE  NEXT  CAMPAIGN — LAFAYETTE  SAILS 
FOR  FRANCE — WASinNGTON  STIMULATES  CONGRESS  TO  MILITARY 
PREPARATIONS — PROJECT  TO  SURPRISE  AND  CARRY  OFF  PBINCB 
"WILLIAM  HENRY   FROM  NEW   YORK — THE  CASE  OF   CAPTAIN   ASQILL. 

Washington  would  have  followed  up  the  reduction  of 
Yorktown  by  a  combined  operation  against  Charleston, 
and  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Count  de  Grasse  on  the 
subject,  but  the  count  alleged  in  reply  that  the  orders 
of  his  court,  ulterior  projects,  and  his  engagements 
with  the  Spaniards  rendered  it  impossible  to  remain 
the  necessary  time  for  the  operation. 

The  prosecution  of  the  Southern  war,  therefore, 
upon  the  broad  scale  which  Washington  had  contem- 
plated, had  to  be  relinquished ,  for,  without  shipping 
and  a  convoy,  the  troops  and  every  thing  necessary  for  a 
siege  would  have  to  be  transported  by  land  with  im- 
mense trouble,  expense  and  delay ;  while  the  enemy  by 
means  of  their  fleets  could  reinforce  or  withdraw  the 
garrison  at  pleasure. 

Under  these  circumstances  Washington  had  to 
content  himself,  for  the  present,  with  detaching  two 


388  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

thousand  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  Conti- 
nental troops,  under  General  St.  Clair,  for  the  support  of 
General  Greene,  trusting  that,  with  this  aid,  he  Avould 
be  able  to  command  the  interior  of  South  Carolina  and 
confine  the  enemy  to  the  town  of  Charleston. 

A  dissolution  of  the  combined  forces  now  took 
place.  The  Marquis  St.  Simon  embarked  his  troops 
on  the  last  of  October,  and  the  Count  de  Grasse  made 
sail  on  the  4th  of  November,  taking  with  him  two 
beautiful  horses  which  Washington  had  presented  to 
him  in  token  of  cordial  regard. 

Lafayette  seeing  there  was  no  probability  of  further 
active  service  in  the  present  year,  resolved  to  return  to 
France  on  a  visit  to  his  family,  and,  with  Washington's 
approbation,  set  out  for  Philadelphia  to  obtain  leave  of 
absence  from  Congress. 

The  British  prisoners  w^ere  marched  to  Winchester 
in  Virginia  and  Frederickstown  in  Maryland,  and  Lord 
Cornwallis  and  his  principal  officers  sailed  for  New  York 
on  parole. 

The  main  part  of  the  American  army  embarked  for 
the  Head  of  Elk,  and  returned  northward  under  the 
command  of  General  Lincoln,  to  be  cantoned  for  the 
winter  m  the  Jerseys  and  on  the  Hudson,  so  as  to  be 
ready  for  operations  against  New  York,  or  elsewhere  in 
the  next  year's  campaign. 

The  French  army  were  to  remain  for  the  winter,  in 
Virginia,  and  the  Count  de  Rochambeau  established  his 
head-quarters  at  Williamsburg. 

Having  attended  in  person  to  the  distribution  of 
ordnance  and  stores,  the  departure  of  prisoners,  and 
the  embarkation  of  the  troops  imder  Lincoln,  Wash- 


1781.]  DEATH    OF   JOHN   PARKE   CUSTIS.  389 

ington  left  Yorktown  on  the  5th  of  November,  and 
arrived  the  same  day  at  Eltham,  the  seat  of  his  friend 
Colonel  Basset.  He  arrived  just  in  time  to  receive  the 
last  breath  of  John  Parke  Custis,  the  son  of  Mrs. 
Washmgton,  as  he  had,  several  years  previously,  ren- 
dered tender  and  pious  offices  at  the  death-bed  of  his 
sister  Miss  Custis.  The  deceased  had  been  an  object 
of  Washington's  care  from  childhood,  and  been  cher- 
ished by  him  with  paternal  affection.  Formed  under 
his  guidance  and  instructions,  he  had  been  fitted  to 
take  a  part  in  the  public  concerns  of  his  country,  and 
had  acquitted  himself  with  credit  as  a  member  of  the 
Virginia  legislature.  He  was  but  twenty-eight  years 
old  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  left  a  widow  Tand  four 
yoimg  children.  It  was  an  unexpected  event,  and  the 
dying  scene  was  rendered  pecuharly  affecting  from  the 
presence  of  the  mother  and  wife  of  the  deceased. 
Washington  remained  several  days  at  Eltham  to  comfort 
them  in  their  afflictions.  As  a  consolation  to  Mrs. 
Washington  in  her  bereavement,  he  adopted  the  two 
youngest  children  of  the  deceased,  a  boy  and  girl,  who 
thenceforth  formed  a  part  of  his  immediate  family. 

From  Eltham,  Washington  proceeded  to  Mount 
Vernon  ;  but  public  cares  gave  him  little  leisure  to 
attend  to  his  private  concerns.  We  have  seen  how 
repeatedly  his  steady  mind  had  been  exercised  in  the 
darkest  times  of  the  revolutionary  struggle,  in  buoying 
up  the  pubHc  heart  when  sinking  into  despondency. 
He  had  now  an  opposite  task  to  perform,  to  guard 
against  an  overweening  confidence  inspired  by  the  recent 
triumph.  In  a  letter  to  General  Greene  he  writes :  "  I 
shall  remain  but  a  few  days  here,  and  shall  proceed  to 


390  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1781. 

Philadelphia,  when  I  shall  attempt  to  stimulate  Con- 
gress to  the  best  improvement  of  our  late  success,  by 
taking  the  most  vigorous  and  effectual  measures  to  be 
ready  for  an  early  and  decisive  campaign  the  next  year. 
My  greatest  fear  is,  that  Congress,  viewing  this  stroke 
in  too  important  a  point  of  light,  may  think  our  work 
too  nearly  closed,  and  will  fall  into  a  state  of  languor 
and  relaxation.  To  prevent  this  error  I  shall  employ 
every  means  in  my  power,  and  if  unhappily  we  sink 
into  that  fatal  mistake,  no  part  of  the  blame  shall  be 
mine." 

In  a  letter  written  at  the  same  time  to  Lafayette, 
who,  having  obtained  from  Congress  an  indefinite  leave 
of  absence,  was  about  to  sail,  he  says,  "  I  owe  it  to  your 
friendship  and  to  my  affectionate  regard  for  you,  my 
dear  marquis,  not  to  let  you  leave  this  country,  without 
carrying  with  you  fresh  marks  of  my  attachment  to 
you,  and  new  expressions  of  the  high  sense  I  entertain 
of  your  military  conduct,  and  other  important  services 
in  the  course  of  the  last  campaign."  In  reply  to  in- 
quiries which  the  marquis  had  made  respecting  the 
operations  of  the  coming  year,  he  declares  that  every 
thing  must  depend  absolutely  for  success  upon  the 
naval  force  to  be  employed  in  these  seas  and  the 
time  of  its  appearance.  "  No  land  force,"  writes  he, 
"  can  act  decisively  unless  it  is  accompanied  by  a  mari- 
time superiority ;  nor  can  more  than  negative  advan- 
tages be  expected  without  it.  For  proof  of  this  we 
have  only  to  recur  to  the  instances  of  the  ease  and 
facility  with  which  the  British  shifted  their  ground,  as 
advantages  were  to  be  obtained  at  either  extremity  of 
the  continent,  and  to  their  late  heavy  loss  the  moment 


1781.]        POLICY   OF   THE    ENSUING   CAMPAIGN  391 

they  failed  in  their  naval  superiority.  *  »  *  * 
A  doubt  did  not  exist,  nor  does  it  at  this  moment,  in 
any  man's  mind,  of  the  total  extirpation  of  the  British 
force  in  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  if  the  Count  de 
Grasse  could  have  extended  his  co-operation  two  months 
longer." 

We  may  add  here  that  Congress,  after  resolutions 
highly  comphmentary  to  the  marquis,  had,  through  the 
secretary  of  foreign  affairs,  recommended  to  the  mmis- 
ters  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States,  resident  m 
Europe,  to  confer  with  the  marquis,  and  avail  them- 
selves of  his  mformation  relative  to  the  situation  of 
national  affairs,  which  mformation  the  various  heads 
of  departments  were  instructed  to  furnish  him,  and 
he  was  furthermore  made  the  bearer  of  a  letter  to  his 
sovereign,  recommending  him  in  the  strongest  terms  to 
the  royal  consideration.  j\Iuch  was  anticipated  from 
the  generous  zeal  of  Lafayette,  and  the  mfluence  he 
would  be  able  to  exercise  in  France  m  favor  of  the 
American  cause. 

Towards  the  end  of  November  Washington  was  in 
Philadelphia,  where  Congress  received  him  with  distin- 
guished honors.  He  lost  no  time  in  enforcing  the 
policy  respecting  the  ensuing  campaign,  which  he  had 
set  forth  in  his  letters  to  General  Greene  and  the  mar- 
quis. His  views  were  met  by  the  military  committee 
of  Congress,  with  which  he  was  m  frequent  consulta- 
tion, and  by  the  secretaries  of  war,  finance,  and  pubhc 
affairs,  who  attended  their  conferences.  Under  his  im- 
pulse and  personal  supervision,  the  military  arrange- 
ments for  1782  were  made  with  unusual  despatch. 
On  the  10th  of  December  resolutions  were  passed  in 


392  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1782. 

Congress  for  requisitions  of  men  and  money  from  the 
several  States ;  and  Washington  backed  those  requisi- 
tions by  letters  to  the  respective  governors  urging 
prompt  compliance.  Strenuous  exertions,  too,  were 
made  by  Dr.  Franklin,  then  minister  in  France,  to 
secure  a  continuance  of  efficient  aid  from  that  power , 
and  a  loan  of  six  millions  had  been  promised  by  the 
king  after  hearing  of  the  capitulation  of  Yorktov/n. 

The  persuasion  that  peace  was  at  hand  was,  how- 
ever, too  prevalent  for  the  public  to  be  roused  to  new 
sacrifices  and  toils  to  maintain  what  was  considered 
the  mere  shadow  of  a  war.  The  States  were  slow  m 
furnishing  a  small  part  of  their  respective  quotas  of 
troops,  and  still  slower  in  answering  to  the  requisitions 
for  money. 

After  remaining  four  months  in  Philadelphia,  Wash- 
ington set  out  in  March  to  rejoin  the  army  at  Newburg 
on  the  Hudson.  He  was  at  Morristown  in  the  Jerseys 
on  the  28th,  when  a  bold  project  was  submitted  to 
him  by  Colonel  Matthias  Ogden,  of  the  Jersey  line. 
Prince  William  Henry,*  son  of  the  king  of  England, 
who  was  serving  as  a  midshipman  in  the  fleet  of 
Admiral  Digby,  was  at  that  time  in  New  York  with 
the  admiral,  an  object  of  great  attention  to  the  anny 
and  the  tory  part  of  the  inhabitants.  The  project 
of  Colonel  Ogden  was  to  surprise  the  prince  and 
the  admiral  at  their  quarters  in  the  city,  and  bring 
them  off  prisoners.  He  was  to  be  aided  in  the  enter- 
prise by  a  captain,  a  subaltern,  three  sei;geants,  and 
thirty-six  men.    They  were  to  embark  from  the  Jersey 

*  Afterwards  William  IV. 


1782.]  PLAN    TO    CAPTURE   THE  PRINCE.  393 

shore  on  a  rainy  night  in  four  whaleboats,  well  manned 
and  rowed  with  muffled  oars,  and  were  to  land  in  New 
York  at  half-past  nine,  at  a  wharf  not  far  from  the 
quarters  of  the  prince  and  admiral,  which  were  in 
Hanover  Square.  Part  of  the  men  were  to  guard  the 
boats,  while  Colonel  Ogden  with  a  strong  party  was  to 
proceed  to  the  house,  force  the  doors  if  necessary,  and 
capture  the  prmce  and  admiral.  In  returning  to  the 
Doats,  part  of  the  men  armed  with  guns  and  bayonets 
were  to  precede  the  prisoners,  and  part  to  /ollow  at 
half  a  gunshot  distance,  to  give  front  to  the  enemy 
until  all  were  embarked. 

The  plan  was  approved  by  Washington,  but  Col- 
onel Ogden  was  charged  to  be  careful  that  no  insult  or 
indignity  be  offered  to  the  prince  or  admiral,  should 
they  be  captured.  They  were,  on  the  contrary,  to  be 
treated  with  all  possible  respect,  and  conveyed  without 
delay  to  Congress. 

How  far  an  attempt  was  made  to  carry  this  plan 
into  operation  is  not  known.  An  exaggerated  alarm 
seems  to  have  been  awakened  by  extravagant  reports 
circulated  m  New  York,  as  appears  by  the  following 
citation  from  a  paper  or  letter  dated  April  23d,  and 
transmitted  by  Washington  to  Ogden. 

"  Great  seem  to  be  their  apprehensions  here.  About 
a  fortnight  ago  a  number  of  flat-boats  were  discovered 
by  a  sentinel  from  the  bank  of  the  river  (Hudson), 
which  are  said  to  have  *been  intended  to  fire  the 
subm-bs,  and  in  the  height  of  the  conflagration  to 
make  a  descent  on  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  and  wrest 
from  our  embraces  his  Excellency  Sir  H.  Clinton, 
Prince  William  Henry,  and  several  other  illustrious 


394  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1782. 

personages — since  Avhich,  great  precautions  have  been 
taken  for  the  security  of  those  gentlemen,  by  augment- 
ing the  guards,  and  to  render  their  persons  as  httle 
exposed  as  possible." 

These  precautions  very  probably  disconcerted  the 
project  of  Colonel  Ogden,  of  which  we  find  no  other 
traces. 

In  a  recent  letter  to  General  Greene,  Washington 
had  expressed  himself  strongly  on  the  subject  of  retali- 
ation. "  Of  all  laws  it  is  the  most  difficult  to  execute, 
where  you  have  not  the  transgressor  himself  in  your 
possession.  Humanity  wiU  ever  interfere,  and  plead 
strongly  against  the  sacrifice  of  an  innocent  person  for 
the  guilt  of  another." 

It  was  but  three  or  four  months  after  this  writing, 
that  his  judgment  and  feelings  were  put  to  the  proof 
in  this  respect.  We  have  had  occasion  to  notice  the 
marauds  of  the  New  York  refugees  in  the  Jerseys. 
One  of  their  number  by  the  name  of  Philip  White  had 
been  captured  by  the  Jersey  people,  and  killed  in  at- 
tempting to  escape  from  those  who  were  conducting 
him  to  Monmouth  jail.  His  partisans  in  New  York 
determined  on  a  signal  revenge.  Captain  Joseph 
Huddy,  an  ardent  whig,  who  had  been  captured  when 
bravely  defending  a  block -house  in  Monmouth  County, 
and  carried  captive  to  New  York,  was  now  drawn  forth 
from  prison,  conducted  into  the  Jerseys  by  a  party  of 
refugees  headed  by  a  Captain  Lippencott,  and  hanged 
on  the  heights  of  Middletown  with  a  label  affixed  to  his 
breast,  bearing  the  inscription  "  Up  goes  Huddy  for 
Phihp  White." 

The  neighboring  country  cried  out  for  retaliation. 


1Y82.1  MURDER   OP   CAPTAIN    HUDDT.  395 

Washington  submitted  the  matter,  with  all  the  evi- 
dence fm"nished,  to  a  board  of  general  and  field-officers. 
It  was  mianimously  determined  that  the  offender  should 
be  demanded  for  execution,  and,  if  not  given  up,  that 
retahation  should  be  exercised  on  a  British  prisoner  of 
equal  rank.  Washington  accordingly  sent  proofs  to 
Su*  Henry  Clinton  of  what  he  stigmatized  as  a  murder, 
and  demanded  that  Captain  Lippencott,  or  the  officer 
who  commanded  the  execution  of  Captain  Huddy, 
should  be  given  up,  or  if  that  officer  should  be  inferior 
in  rank,  so  many  of  the  perpetrators  as  would,  accord- 
ing to  the  tariff  of  exchange,  be  an  equivalent.  "  To 
do  this,"  said  he,  *'  will  mark  the  justice  of  your  Excel- 
lency's character.  In  failure  of  it  I  shall  hold  myself 
justifiable  in  the  eyes  of  God  and  man,  for  the  measure 
to  which  I  will  resort." 

Sir  Henry  dechned  a  comphance,  but  stated  that  he 
had  ordered  a  strict  inquiry  into  the  circumstances  of 
Captain  Huddy's  death,  and  would  bring  the  perpetra- 
tors of  it  to  immediate  trial. 

Washington  about  the  same  time  received  the  copy 
of  a  resolution  of  Congress  approving  of  his  firm  and 
judicious  conduct,  in  his  application  to  the  British 
general  at  New  York,  and  promising  to  support  him 
"  m  his  fixed  purpose  of  exemplary  retaliation." 

He  accordingly  ordered  a  selection  to  be  made  by 
lot,  for  the  above  purpose,  from  among  the  British  offi- 
cers, prisoners  at  Lancaster  in  Pennsylvania.  To  en- 
hance the  painful  nature  of  the  case,  the  lot  fell  upon 
Captain  Charles  Asgill  of  the  guards,  a  youth  only 
nineteen  years  of  age,  of  an  amiable  character  and 


396  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1782. 

high  hopes  and  expectations,  being  only  son  and  heir 
of  Sir  Charles  Asgill,  a  wealthy  baronet. 

The  vouth  bore  his  lot  with  firmness,  but  his  fellow 
prisoners  were  incensed  at  Sir  Henry  Clinton  for  ex- 
posing him  to  such  a  fate  by  refusing  to  deliver  up  the 
culprit.  One  of  their  number,  a  son  of  the  Earl  of 
Ludlow,  sohcited  permission  from  Washington  to  pro- 
ceed to  New  York  and  lay  the  case  before  Sir  Guy 
Carleton,  who  had  succeeded  in  command  to  Sir  Henry 
Clinton.  In  granting  it  Washington  intimated  that, 
though  deeply  afiected  by  the  unhappy  fate  to  which 
Captain  Asgill  was  subjected,  and  devoutly  wishing 
that  his  life  might  be  spared,  there  was  but  one  alter- 
native that  could  save  him,  of  which  the  British  com- 
mander must  be  aware. 

The  matter  remained  for  some  time  in  suspense. 
Washington  had  ordered  that  Captain  Asgill  should  be 
treated  "with  every  tender  attention  and  politeness, 
(consistent  with  his  present  situation)  which  his  rank, 
fortune  and  connections,  together  with  his  unfortunate 
state  demanded,"  and  the  captain  himself  acknowl- 
edged in  writing  the  feeling  and  attentive  manner  in 
which  those  commands  were  executed.  But  on  the 
question  of  retaliation  Washington  remained  firm. 

Lippencott  was  at  length  tried  by  a  court-martial, 
but,  after  a  long  sitting,  acquitted,  it  appearing  that  he 
had  acted  under  the  verbal  orders  of  Governor  Frank- 
lin, president  of  the  board  of  associated  loyahsts.  The 
British  commander  reprobated  the  death  of  Captain 
Huddy,  and  broke  up  the  board. 

These  circumstances  changed  in  some  degree  the 
ground  upon  which  Washington  was  proceeding.     He 


1782.]  CASE   OF   CAPTAIN    ASGILL.  397 

laid  the  whole  matter  before  Congress,  admitted  Cap- 
tam  Asgill  on  parole  at  Morristown,  and  subsequently 
intimated  to  the  secretary  of  war  his  private  opinion 
in  favor  of  his  release,  with  permission  to  go  to  his 
friends  in  Europe. 

In  the  mean  time  Lady  Asgill,  the  mother  of  the 
youth,  had  written  a  pathetic  letter  to  the  Count  de 
Vergennes,  the  French  minister  of  state,  imploring  his 
intercession  in  behalf  of  her  son.  The  letter  was 
shown  to  the  king  and  queen,  and  by  their  direction 
the  count  wrote  to  Washington  soliciting  the  liberation 
of  Assjill. 

Washington,  as  has  been  shown,  had  .abeady  sug- 
gested his  release,  and  was  annoyed  at  the  delay  of 
Congress  in  the  matter.  He  now  referred  to  that  body 
the  communication  from  the  count,  and  urged  a  favor- 
able decision.  To  his  great  relief,  he  received  their 
directions  to  set  Captain  Asgill  at  liberty. 

This,  like  the  case  of  the  unfortunate  Andre,  was 
one  of  the  painful  and  trying  predicaments  in  which  a 
strict  sense  of  public  duty  obliged  Washington  to  do 
violence  to  his  natural  impulses,  and  he  declares  in  one 
of  his  letters,  that  the  situation  of  Captain  Asgill  often 
filled  him  with  the  keenest  anguish.  "  I  felt  for  him 
on  many  accounts ;  and  not  the  least  when,  viewing  him 
as  a  man  of  honor  and  sentiment,  I  considered  how 
unfortunate  it  was  for  him  that  a  wretch  who  possessed 
neither  should  be  the  means  of  causing  him  a  single 
pang  or  a  disagreeable  sensation." 


39S  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1782. 


NOTE. 

Whilo  these  pages  are  going  through  the  press,  we  hare  before  us  an  in- 
stance of  that  conscientious  regard  for  justice  which  governed  Washington's 
conduct. 

A  favorite  aide-de-camp,  Colonel  Samuel  B.  Webb,  who  had  been  woundei 
in  the  battles  of  Bunker's  Hill  and  White  Plain?,  was  captured  in  December 
1777,  when  commanding  a  Connecticut  regiment,  and  accompanying  General 
Parsons  in  a  descent  upon  Long  Island.  He  was  then  but  24  years  of  age, 
and  the  youngest  colonel  in  the  army.  Presuming  upon  the  favor  of  General 
Washington,  who  had  pronounced  him  one  of  the  most  accomplished  gentle- 
men in  the  service,  he  wrote  to  him,  reporting  his  capture,  and  begging  most 
strenuously  for  an  immediate  exchange.  He  received  a  prompt,  but  disap- 
pointing reply.  Washington  lamented  his  unfortunate  condition.  "  It  would 
give  me  pleasure,"  said  he,  **  to  render  you  any  services  in  my  power,  but  it  is 
impossible  for  me  to  comply  with  your  request,  without  violating  the  principles 
of  justice,  and  incurring  a  charge  of  partiality." 

In  fact,  several  officers  of  Colonel  Webb's  rank  had  been  a  long  time  in 
durance,  and  it  was  a  rule  with  Washington  that  those  first  captured  should 
be  first  released.  To  this  rule  he  inflexibly  adhered,  however  his  feelings 
might  plead  for  its  infringement.  Colonel  Webb,  in  consequence,  was  not  ex- 
changed until  the  present  year ;  when  Washington,  still  on  principles  of  justice, 
gave  him  the  brevet  rank  of  Brigadier-general  and  the  command  of  the  light 
infantry. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

■WASHINGTON  C0NTINTJE8  HIS  l'EECAt!TI0N8 — SIE  GTJT  OABLBTON  BRINGS 
PAOIFIO  NEWS — DISCONTENTS  OF  THE  AKMT — EXTBAORDINAET  LET- 
TER   FROM    COLONEL  NICOLA — INDIGNANT    EEPLY   OF   WASHINGTON 

JOINT  LETTER  OF  SIR  GDY  CARLETON  AND  ADMIRAL  DI6BT — JUNC- 
TION OF  THE  ALLIED  ARMIES  ON  THE  HUDSON — CONTEMPLATED 
REDUCTION   OF   THE  AEMY. 

In  disposing  of  the  case  of  Captain  Asgill,  we  have 
anticipated  dates,  and  must  revert  to  the  time  when 
Washington  again  estabhshed  his  head-quarters  at 
Newburg  on  the  Hudson.  The  sohcitude  felt  by  him 
on  account  of  the  universal  relaxation  of  the  sinews  of 
war,  was  not  allayed  by  reports  of  pacific  speeches,  and 
motions  made  in  the  British  parliament,  which  might 
be  delusive.  "Even  if  the  nation  and  parliament," 
said  he,  "  are  really  in  earnest  to  obtain  peace  with 
America,  it  will,  undoubtedly,  be  wisdom  hi  us  to  meet 
them  with  great  caution  and  circumspection,  and  by 
all  means  to  keep  our  arms  firm  in  our  hands ;  and 
instead  of  relaxing  one  iota  in  our  exertions,  rather  to 
spring  forward  with  redoubled  vigor,  that  we  may  take 
the  advantage  of  eveiy  favorable  opportunity,  until  our 
^^-ishes  are  fully  obtained.     No  nation  yet  suffered  in 


400  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1782. 

treaty  by  preparing,  even  in  the  moment  of  negotiation, 
most  vigorously  for  the  field." 

Sir  Guy  Carleton  arrived  in  New  York  early  in 
May  to  take  the  place  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  had 
solicited  his  recall.  In  a  letter  dated  May  7th,  Sir  Guy 
informed  Washington  of  his  being  joined  with  Admiral 
Digby  in  the  commission  of  peace ;  he  transmitted  at 
the  same  time  printed  copies  of  the  proceedings  in  the 
House  of  Commons  on  the  4th  of  March,  respecting  an 
address  to  the  king  in  favor  of  peace ;  and  of  a  biU  re- 
ported in  consequence  thereof,  authorizing  the  king  to 
conclude  a  peace  or  truce  with  the  revolted  provinces 
of  North  America.  As  this  bill,  however,  had  not 
passed  into  a  law  when  Sir  Guy  left  England,  it  pre- 
sented no  basis  for  a  negotiation ,  and  was  only  cited 
by  him  to  show  the  pacific  disposition  of  the  British 
nation,  with  which  he  professed  the  most  zealous  con- 
currence. Still,  though  multiplied  circumstances  grad- 
ually persuaded  Washington  of  a  real  disposition  on 
the  part  of  Great  Britain  to  terminate  the  war,  he  did 
not  think  fit  to  relax  his  preparations  for  hostilities. 

Great  discontents  prevailed  at  this  time  in  the  army, 
both  among  ofticers  and  men.  The  neglect  of  the 
States  to  furnish  their  proportions  of  the  sum  voted  by 
Congress  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  had  left  the 
army  almost  destitute.  There  was  scarce  money  suffi- 
cient to  feed  the  troops  from  day  to  day ;  indeed  there 
were  days  when  they  were  absolutely  in  want  of  provi- 
sions. The  pay  of  the  officers,  too,  was  greatly  in  ar- 
rear ;  many  of  them  doubted  whether  they  Avould  ever 
receive  the  half  pay  decreed  to  them  by  Congress  for  a 
term  of  years  after  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  and  fears 


1782.]        EXTRAORDINARY   LETTER   OF   NICOLA.  401 

began  to  be  expressed  that,  in  the  event  of  peace,  they 
would  all  be  disbanded  with  their  claims  unliquidated, 
and  themselves  cast  upon  the  community  penniless,  and 
unfitted,  by  long  military  habitudes,  for  the  gainful 
pursmts  of  peace. 

At  this  juncture,  Washington  received  an  extraordi- 
nary letter  from  Colonel  Lewis  Nicola,  a  veteran  officer, 
once  commandant  of  Fort  Mifflin,  who  had  been  in  hab- 
its of  intimacy  with  him,  and  had  warmly  interceded  in 
behalf  of  the  suffering  army.  In  this  letter  he  attribu- 
ted all  the  ills  experienced  and  anticipated  by  the  army 
and  the  public  at  large,  to  the  existing  form  of  govern- 
ment. He  condemned  a  republican  form,  as  incom- 
patible with  national  prosperity,  and  advised  a  mixed 
government,  like  that  of  England ;  which,  he  had  no 
doubt,  on  its  benefits  being  properly  pointed  out,  would 
be  readily  adopted.  "  In  that  case,"  adds  he,  "  it  will, 
I  believe,  be  uncontroverted,  that  the  same  abilities 
which  have  led  us  through  difficulties  apparently  insur- 
mountable by  human  power,  to  victory  and  glory; 
those  qualities  that  have  merited  and  obtained  the  uni- 
versal esteem  and  veneration  of  an  army,  would  be 
most  hkely  to  conduct  and  direct  us  m  the  smoother 
paths  of  peace.  Some  people  have  so  connected  the 
idea  of  tyranny  and  monarchy,  as  to  find  it  very  diffi- 
cult to  separate  them.  It  may,  therefore,  be  requisite 
to  give  the  head  of  such  a  constitution  as  I  propose, 
some  title  apparently  more  moderate ;  but,  if  all  other 
things  were  once  adjusted,  I  believe  strong  arguments 
might  be  produced  for  admitting  the  title  of  King, 
which,  I  conceive,  would  be  attended  with  some  mate- 
rial advantages." 

VOL.  IV. — ^26 


402  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1Y82. 

Washington  saw  at  once  that  Nicola  was  but  the 
organ  of  a  military  faction,  disposed  to  make  the  army 
the  basis  of  an  energetic  government,  and  to  place  him 
at  the  head.  The  suggestion,  backed  by  the  opportu- 
nity, might  have  tempted  a  man  of  meaner  ambition . 
from  him  it  drew  the  following  indignant  letter. 

"  With  a  mixture  of  great  surprise  and  astonish- 
ment, I  have  read  with  attention  the  sentiments  you 
have  submitted  to  my  perusal.  Be  assured,  sir,  no  oc- 
currence in  the  course  of  the  war  has  given  me  more 
painful  sensations,  than  your  information  of  there  being 
such  ideas  existing  in  the  army,  as  you  have  expressed, 
and  I  must  view  with  abhorrence,  and  reprehend  with 
severity  For  the  present,  the  communication  of  them 
will  rest  in  my  own  bosom,  unless  some  further  agi- 
tation of  the  matter  shall  make  a  disclosure  neces- 
sary. 

"  I  am  much  at  a  loss  to  conceive  what  part  of  my 
conduct  could  have  given  encouragement  to  an  address, 
which  to  me  seems  big  with  the  greatest  nnschiefs  that 
can  befall  my  country.  If  I  am  not  deceived  in  the 
knowledge  of  myself,  you  could  not  have  found  a  per- 
son to  whom  your  schemes  are  more  disagreeable.  At 
the  same  time,  in  justice  to  my  own  feelings,  I  must 
add,  that  no  man  possesses  a  more  sincere  wish  to  see 
ample  justice  done  to  the  army  than  I  do ;  and  as  far 
as  my  powers  and  influence,  in  a  constitutional  way, 
extend,  they  shall  be  employed  to  the  utmost  of  my 
abilities  to  effect  it,  should  there  be  any  occasion. 
Let  me  conjure  you,  then,  if  you  have  any  regard  for 
your  country,  concern  for  yourself  or  posterity,  or  re- 
spect for  me,  to  banish  these  thoughts  from  your  mind, 


1782.]        NEGOTIATIONS  FOB,  PEACE.  403 

and  never  communicate  as  from  yourself  or  any  one 
else,  a  sentunent  of  the  like  nature." 

On  the  2d  of  August,  Sir  Guy  Carleton  and  Ad- 
miral Digby  wrote  a  joint  letter  to  Washmgton,  inform- 
ing him  that  they  were  acquainted,  by  authority,  that 
negotiations  for  a  general  peace  had  already  been  com- 
menced at  Paris,  and  that  the  independence  of  the 
United  States  would  be  proposed  m  the  first  instance 
by  the  British  commissioner,  instead  of  being  made  a 
condition  of  a  general  treaty. 

Even  yet,  Washington  was  wary.  "  From  the  for- 
mer infatuation,  duplicity,  and  perverse  system  of  Bri- 
tish policy,"  said  he,  "  I  confess  I  am  induced  to  doubt 
every  thing ;  to  suspect  every  thing."  "•-  ''^  *  "  What- 
ever the  real  intention  of  the  enemy  may  be,  I  think 
the  strictest  attention  and  exertion,  which  have  ever 
been  exercised  on  our  part,  instead  of  being  diminished, 
ought  to  be  increased.  Jealousy  and  precaution  at 
least  can  do  no  harm.  Too  much  confidence  and  su- 
pineness  may  be  pernicious  in  the  extreme." 

What  gave  force  to  this  policy  was,  that  as  yet  no 
offers  had  been  made  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  for 
a  general  cessation  of  hostilities,  and,  although  the  Bri- 
tish commanders  were  in  a  manner  tied  down  by  the 
resolves  of  the  House  of  Commons,  to  a  defensive  war, 
only  in  the  United  States,  they  might  be  at  liberty  to 
transport  part  of  their  force  to  the  West  Indies,  to  act 
against  the  French  possessions  m  that  quarter.  With 
these  considerations  he  wrote  to  the  Count  de  Rocham- 
beau,  then  at  Baltimore,  advising  him,  for  the  good  of 
the  common  cause,  to  march  his  troops  to  the  banks  of 


404  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1782. 

the  Hudson,  and  form  a  junction  with  the  American 
army. 

The  junction  took  place  about  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember. The  French  army  crossed  the  Hudson  at 
King's  Ferry  to  Verplanck's  Point,  where  the  American 
forces  were  paraded  under  arms  to  welcome  them. 
The  clothmg  and  arms  recently  received  from  France 
or  captured  at  Yorktown,  enabled  them  to  make  an 
unusually  respectable  appearance.  Two  lines  were 
formed  from  the  landing  place  to  head-quarters,  between 
which  Count  Rochambeau  passed,  escorted  by  a  troop 
of  cavalry ,  after  which  he  took  his  station  beside  Gen- 
eral Washmgton  :  the  music  struck  up  a  French  march, 
and  the  whole  army  passed  m  review  before  them. 

The  French  army  encamped  on  the  left  of  the 
American,  near  Crompond,  about  ten  miles  from  Ver- 
planck's Point.  The  greatest  good  will  continued  to 
prevail  between  the  allied  forces,  though  the  Americans 
had  but  little  means  of  shovnng  hospitality  to  their  gay 
Gallic  friends.  "  Only  conceive  the  mortification  they 
must  suffer,  even  the  general  officers,"  says  Washing- 
ton in  a  letter  to  the  secretary  of  war,  "when  they 
cannot  invite  a  French  officer,  a  visiting  friend,  or  a 
travelling  acquaintance,  to  a  better  repast  than  whiskey 
hot  from  the  still,  and  not  always  that,  and  a  bit  of 
beef  without  vegetables  will  afford  them." 

Speaking  of  a  contemplated  reduction  of  the  army  to 
take  place  on  the  1  st  of  January ;  *'  While  I  premise,"  said 
he,  "  that  no  one  I  have  seen  or  heard  of  appears  opposed 
to  the  principle  of  reducing  the  army  as  circumstances 
may  require ;  yet  I  cannot  help  fearing  the  result  of  the 
measure  in  contemplation,  under  present  curcumstances, 


1782.]  GRIEVANCES    OF   THE    ARMY.  405 

when  I  see  such  a  number  of  men,  goaded  by  a  thou- 
sand stings  of  reflection  on  the  past,  and  of  anticipation 
on  the  future,  about  to  be  turned  into  the  world,  soured 
by  penury,  and  what  they  call  the  ingratitude  of  the  pub- 
lic, mvolved  m  debts,  without  one  farthnig  of  money 
to  carry  them  home,  after  having  spent  the  flower  of 
their  days,  and  many  of  them  their  patrimonies,  in  es- 
tablishmg  the  freedom  and  independence  of  their  coun- 
try, and  suffered  every  thing  that  human  nature  is  capa- 
ble of  enduring  on  tliis  side  of  death  — I  repeat  it,  that 
when  I  consider  these  irritating  circumstances,  without 
one  thing  to  soothe  their  feelings  or  dispel  the  gloomy 
prospects,  I  cannot  avoid  apprehending  that  a  train 
of  evils  will  follow,  of  a  very  serious  and  distressing 
nature.     *     *     *     * 

"  I  wish  not  to  heighten  the  shades  of  the  picture 
so  far  as  the  reality  would  justify  me  in  doing  it.  I 
could  give  anecdotes  of  patriotism  and  distress,  which 
have  scarcely  ever  been  paralleled,  never  surpassed  in 
the  history  of  mankind.  But  you  may  rely  upon  it, 
the  patience  and  long-suffering  of  this  army  are  almost 
exhausted,  and  that  there  never  was  so  great  a  spirit 
of  discontent  as  at  this  instant.  While  in  the  field  I 
think  it  may  be  kept  from  breaking  out  into  acts  of 
outrage ;  but  when  we  retire  into  winter-quarters,  un- 
less the  storm  is  previously  dissipated,  I  cannot  be  at 
ease  respecting  the  consequences.  It  is  high  time  for 
a  peace.'* 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

DrSCONTEyTS  OB"  THE  ARMT  AT  NBWBTJKG — MEMORIAL  OF  THE  OFFIOEES 
TO  CONGRESS — AN0XTM0U8  PAPERS  OIRO0LATED  IN  THE  OA.MP — 
MEETING  OF  OFFICERS  CALLED — ADDRESS  OF  WASHINGTON — RESOLU- 
TIONS IN  CONSEQtTENOE — LETTERS  OF  WASHINGTON  TO  THE  PRESIDENT 
— ^HIS  OPINION  OF  THE  ANONYMOUS  ADDRESSES  AND  THEIR   ACTHOB, 

The  anxious  fears  of  Washington  in  regard  to  what 
might  take  place  on  the  approaching  reduction  of  the 
army,  were  in  some  degree  reaUzed.  After  the  meeting 
with  the  French  army  at  Verplanck's  Pomt,  he  had 
drawn  up  his  forces  to  his  former  encampment  at  New- 
burg,  where  he  estabUshed  his  head-quarters  for  the 
winter.  In  the  leisure  and  idleness  of  a  winter  camp 
the  discontents  of  the  army  had  time  to  ferment. 
The  arrearages  of  pay  became  a  topic  of  constant  and 
angry  comment,  as  well  as  the  question,  whether  the 
resolution  of  Congress,  granting  half  pay  to  officers 
who  should  serve  to  the  end  of  the  war,  would  be  car- 
ried into  effect.  Whence  were  the  funds  to  arise  for 
such  half  pay  ?  The  national  treasury  was  empty ; 
the  States  were  slow  to  tax  themselves ;  the  resource 
of  foreign  loans  was  nearly  exhausted.  The  articles 
of    confederation  required  the  concurrence  of   nine 


'•«.'  t^i'  ^.a  f.w«,    ,)  ^, 


Prtiented  by  Mrs.  H  c  ..  h  yt.n  to  Mrs.  Luer,  Daughttr  ./  Urd  .iurUug. 


1782.]  DISCONTENTS    OF   THE    ARMY.  407 

States  to  any  act  appropriating  public  money.  There 
had  never  been  nine  States  in  favor  of  the  half  pay 
establishment;  was  it  probable  that  as  many  would 
concur  in  applying  any  scanty  funds  that  might  accrue, 
and  which  would  be  imperiously  demanded  for  many 
other  purposes,  to  the  payment  of  claims  known  to  be 
unpopular,  and  to  the  support  of  men,  who,  the  neces- 
sity for  their  services  bemg  at  an  end,  might  be  re- 
garded as  drones  in  the  community  ? 

The  result  of  these  boding  conferences  was  a  me- 
morial to  Congress  in  December,  from  the  officers  m 
camp  on  behalf  of  the  army,  representing  the  hardships 
of  the  case,  and  proposing  that  a  specific  sum  should 
be  granted  them  for  the  money  actually  due,  and  as  a 
commutation  for  half  pay.  Three  officers  were  deputed 
to  present  the  memorial  to  Congress,  and  watch  over 
and  promote  its  success. 

The  memorial  gave  rise  to  animated  and  long  dis- 
cussions  m  Congress.  Some  members  were  for  admit- 
ting the  claims  as  founded  on  engagements  entered  into 
by  the  nation ;  others  were  for  referring  them  to  the 
respective  States  of  the  claimants.  The  winter  passed 
away  without  any  definite  measures  on  the  subject. 

On  the  1 0th  of  March,  1783,  an  anonymous  paper  was 
circulated  through  the  camp,  calhng  a  meeting  at  eleven 
o'clock  the  next  day,  of  the  general  and  field-officers, 
of  an  officer  from  each  company,  and  a  delegate  from 
the  medical  staff*,  to  consider  a  letter  just  received  from 
their  representatives  m  Philadelphia,  and  what  meas- 
ures, if  any,  should  be  adopted  to  obtain  that  Tedress 
of  grievances  which  they  seemed  to  have  solicited  in 
vain. 


408  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1783 

On  the  following  morning  an  anonymous  address 
to  the  officers  of  the  army  was  privately  put  into  circu- 
lation. It  professed  to  be  from  a  fellow-soldier,  who 
had  shared  in  their  toils  and  mingled  in  their  dangers, 
and  who  till  very  lately  had  believed  in  the  justice  of 
his  country. 

"  After  a  pursuit  of  seven  long  years,"  observed  he, 
"  the  object  for  which  we  set  out  is  at  length  brought 
within  our  reach.  Yes,  my  friends,  that  suffering 
courage  of  yours  was  active  once ;  it  has  conducted 
the  United  States  of  America  through  a  doubtful  and 
bloody  war ;  it  has  placed  her  in  the  chair  of  indepen- 
dency, and  peace  returns  to  bless — ^whom  ?  a  country 
willing  to  redress  your  wrongs,  cherish  your  worth,  and 
reward  your  services  ?  a  country  courting  your  return 
to  private  life,  with  tears  of  gratitude  and  smiles  of 
admiration,  longing  to  divide  with  you  that  mdepen- 
dency  which  your  gallantry  has  given,  and  those  riches 
which  your  wounds  have  preserved?  Is  this  the 
case  ?  or  is  it  rather  a  country  that  tramples  upon  your 
rights,  disdains  your  cries,  and  insults  your  distresses  ? 
Have  you  not  more  than  once  suggested  your  wishes, 
and  made  known  your  wants'to  Congress — wants  and 
wishes,  which  gratitude  and  policy  should  have  antici- 
pated, rather  than  evaded  ?  And  have  you  not  lately, 
in  the  meek  language  of  entreating  memorials,  begged 
from  their  justice  what  you  could  no  longer  expect 
from  their  favor?  How  have  you  been  answered? 
Let  the  letter,  which  you  are  called  to  consider  to-mor- 
row, make  reply ! 

"  If  this  then  be  your  treatment,  while  the  swords 
you  wear  are  necessary  for  the  defence  of  America, 


1783.]  ANONYMOUS   PAPERS.  409 

what  have  you  to  expect  from  peace,  when  your  voice 
shall  sink,  and  your  strength  dissipate  by  division, 
when  those  very  swords,  the  instruments  and  compan- 
ions of  your  glory,  shall  be  taken  from  your  sides,  and 
no  remaining  mark  of  military  distinction  left  but  your 
wants,  infirmities,  and  scars  ?  Can  you  then  consent 
to  be  the  only  sufferers  by  this  Revolution,  and,  retiring 
from  the  field,  grow  old  in  poverty,  wretchedness  and 
contempt  ?  Can  you  consent  to  wade  through  the  vile 
mire  of  dependency,  and  owe  the  miserable  remnant 
of  that  life  to  charity,  which  has  hitherto  been  spent  in 
honor  ?  If  you  can,  go,  and  carry  with  you  the  jest 
of  Tones,  and  the  scorn  of  Whigs ;  the  ndicule,  and 
what  is  worse,  the  pity  of  the  world  1  Go,  starve  and 
be  forgotten !  But  if  your  spirits  should  revolt  at 
this  J  if  you  have  sense  enough  to  discover,  and  spirit 
sufficient  to  oppose  tyranny,  imder  whatever  garb  it 
may  assume,  whether  it  be  the  plain  coat  of  republi- 
canism, or  the  splendid  robe  of  royalty;  if  you  have 
yet  learned  to  discriminate  between  a  people  and  a 
cause,  between  men  and  principles ;  awake,  attend  to 
your  situation,  and  redress  yourselves  !  If  the  present 
moment  be  lost,  every  future  effort  is  in  vain ;  and 
your  threats  then  will  be  as  empty  as  your  entreaties 
now. 

"  I  would  advise  you,  therefore,  to  come  to  some 
final  opinion  upon  what  you  can  bear,  and  what  you 
will  suffer.  If  your  determination  be  in  any  proportion 
to  your  wrongs,  carry  your  appeal  from  the  justice  to 
the  fears  of  government.  Change  the  milk-and-water 
style  of  your  last  memorial.  Assume  a  bolder  tone, 
decent,  but  lively,  spirited,  and  determined ,  and  sus- 


410  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

pect  the  man,  who  would  advise  to  more  moderation 
and  longer  forbearance.  Let  two  or  three  men,  who 
can  feel  as  well  as  write,  be  appointed  to  draw  up  your 
last  remonstrance,  for  I  would  no  longer  give  it  the 
suing,  soft,  unsuccessful  epithet  of  memorial.  Let  it 
represent  m  language,  that  will  neither  dishonor  you 
by  its  rudeness,  nor  betray  you  by  its  fears,  what  has 
been  promised  by  Congress,  and  what  has  been  per- 
formed ;  how  long  and  how  patiently  you  have  suf- 
fered ;  how  little  you  have  asked,  and  how  much  of 
that  little  has  been  denied.  Tell  them,  that,  though 
you  were  the  first,  and  would  wish  to  be  the  last,  to 
encounter  danger,  though  despair  itself  can  never  drive 
you  into  dishonor,  it  may  drive  you  from  the  field  ; 
that  the  wound,  often  irritated  and  never  healed,  may 
at  length  become  incurable ,  and  that  the  slightest 
mark  of  indignity  from  Congress  now,  must  operate 
like  the  grave,  and  part  you  for  ever ;  that,  m  any  pohti- 
cal  event,  the  army  has  its  alternative.  If  peace,  that 
nothing  shall  separate  you  from  your  arms  but  death ; 
if  war,  that  courting  the  auspices,  and  inviting  the 
direction  of  your  illustrious  leader,  you  will  retire  to 
some  unsettled  country,  smile  in  your  turn,  and  '  mock 
when  their  fear  cometh  on.'  But  let  it  represent,  also, 
that  should  they  comply  with  the  request  of  your  late 
memorial,  it  would  make  you  more  happy  and  them 
more  respectable;  that,  while  war  should  continue, 
you  would  follow  their  standard  into  the  field ,  and 
when  it  came  to  an  end,  you  would  withdraw  into  the 
shade  of  private  life,  and  give  the  world  another  sub- 
ject of  wonder  and  applause  ;  an  army  victorious  over 
its  enemies,  victorious  over  itself." 


1783.]  ANONYMOUS    PAPERS.  411 

This  bold  and  eloquent,  but  dangerous  appeal, 
founded  as  it  was  upon  the  wrongs  and  sufferings  of  a 
gallant  army  and  the  shameful  want  of  sympathy  in 
tardy  legislators,  called  for  the  full  exercise  of  Wash- 
ington's characteristic  firnmess,  caution  and  discrimi- 
nation. In  general  orders  he  noticed  the  anonymous 
paper,  but  expressed  his  confidence  that  the  good  sense 
of  officers  would  prevent  them  from  paying  attention 
to  such  an  irregular  invitation  ;  which  he  reprobated  as 
disorderly.  AVith  a  view  to  counteract  its  effects,  he 
requested  a  like  meeting  of  officers  on  the  1 5  th  instant 
to  hear  the  report  of  the  committee  deputed  to  Con- 
gress. "After  mature  deliberation,"  added  he,  "  they  will 
devise  what  further  measures  ought  to  be  adopted  as 
most  rational  and  best  calculated  to  obtain  the  just  and 
important  object  in  view." 

On  the  following  day  another  anonymous  address 
was  circulated,  written  in  a  more  moderate  tone,  but 
to  the  same  purport  with  the  first,  and  affecting  to  con- 
strue the  general  orders  into  an  approbation  of  the 
object  sought ;  only  changing  the  day  appointed  for  the 
meeting.  "  Till  now,"  it  observed,  "  the  commander- 
in-chief  has  regarded  the  steps  you  have  taken  for 
redress  with  good  wishes  alone ;  his  ostensible  silence 
has  authorized  your  meetings,  and  his  private  opinion 
sanctified  your  claims.  Had  he  disHked  the  object 
in  view,  would  not  the  same  sense  of  duty  which  for- 
bade you  from  meeting  on  the  third  day  of  the  week, 
have  forbidden  you  from  meeting  on  the  seventh  ?  Is 
not  the  same  subject  held  up  to  your  view  ?  and  has  it 
not  passed  the  seal  of  office,  and  taken  all  the  solemnity 


412  LIFE   OF    WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

of  an  order  ?  This  will  give  system  to  your  proceed- 
ings, and  stability  to  your  resolves."     &c.  &c. 

On  Saturday,  the  15th  of  March,  the  meeting  took 
place.  Washington  had  previously  sent  for  the  officers, 
one  by  one,  in  private,  and  enlarged  on  the  loss  of  char- 
acter to  the  whole  army,  that  would  result  from  intem- 
perate resolutions.  At  the  meetmg  General  Gates  was 
called  to  the  chair.  Washington  rose  and  apologized  for 
appearing  there,  which  he  had  not  intended  to  do  when 
he  issued  the  order  directing  the  assemblage.  The 
diligence,  however,  which  had  been  used  in  circulating 
anonymous  writings,  rendered  it  necessary  he  should 
give  his  sentiments  to  the  army,  on  the  nature  and 
tendency  of  them.  He  had  taken  this  opportunity  to 
do  so,  and  had  committed  his  thoughts  to  writing, 
which,  with  the  indulgence  of  his  brother  officers,  he 
would  take  the  liberty  of  reading  to  them. 

He  then  proceeded  to  read  a  forcible  and  feeling 
address,  pointing  out  the  irregularity  and  impropriety 
of  the  recent  anonymous  summons,  and  the  dangerous 
nature  of  the  anonymous  address  ;  a  production,  as  he 
observed,  addressed  more  to  the  feelings  and  passions 
than  to  the  judgment ,  drawn  with  great  art,  calculated 
to  impress  the  mind  with  an  idea  of  premeditated  in- 
justice in  the  sovereign  power  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  rouse  all  those  resentments  which  must  unavoid- 
ably flow  from  such  a  belief. 

On  these  principles  he  had  opposed  the  irregular 
and  hasty  meeting  appointed  in  the  anonymous  sum- 
mons, not  from  a  disinclination  to  afford  officers  every 
opportunity,  consistent  with  their  own  honor  and  the 
dignity  of  the  army,  to  make  known  their  grievances. 


1783.]       WASHINGTON    ADDRESSES    THE    ARMY.  413 

"  If  my  conduct  heretofore,"  said  he,  "  has  not  evinced 
to  you,  that  I  have  been  a  faithful  friend  to  the  army, 
my  declaration  of  it  at  this  time  would  be  equally  un- 
availmg  and  improper.  But  as  I  was  among  the  first 
who  embarked  in  the  cause  of  our  common  country ; 
as  I  have  never  left  your  side  one  moment,  but  when 
called  from  you  on  public  duty;  as  I  have  been  the 
constant  companion  and  witness  of  your  distresses,  and 
not  among  the  last  to  feel  and  acknowledge  your  mer- 
its ,  as  I  have  ever  considered  my  own  military  reputa- 
tion as  inseparably  connected  with  that  of  the  army  ; 
as  my  heart  has  ever  expanded  with  joy  when  I  have 
heard  its  praises,  and  my  indignation  has  arisen  when 
the  mouth  of  detraction  has  been  opened  against  it ,  it 
can  scarcely  be  supposed  at  this  last  stage  of  the  war 
that  I  am  indifferent  to  its  interests."  ***** 

"  For  myself,"  observes  he,  in  another  part  of  his 
address,  "  a  recollection  of  the  cheerful  assistance  and 
prompt  obedience  I  have  experienced  from  you  under 
every  vicissitude  of  fortune,  and  the  sincere  affection  I 
feel  for  an  army  I  have  so  long  had  the  honor  to  com- 
mand, mil  oblige  me  to  declare  m  this  public  and  sol- 
emn manner,  that  for  the  attainment  of  complete  justice 
for  aU  your  toils  and  dangers,  and  the  gratification  of 
every  wish,  so  far  as  may  be  done  consistently  with  the 
great  duty  I  owe  my  country  and  those  powers  we 
are  bound  to  respect,  you  may  fully  command  my  ser- 
vices to  the  utmost  extent  of  my  abilities. 

"  While  I  give  you  these  assurances,  and  pledge  my- 
self in  the  most  unequivocal  manner  to  exert  whatever 
abilities  I  am  possessed  of  in  your  favor,  let  me  entreat 
you,  gentlemen,  on  your  part,  not  to  take  any  measures 


414  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

whicli,  viewed  in  the  calm  light  of  reason,  will  lessen 
the  dignity  and  sully  the  glory  you  have  hitherto  main- 
tained i — ^let  me  request  you  to  rely  on  the  plighted 
faith  of  your  country,  and  place  a  full  confidence  m 
the  purity  of  the  mtentions  of  Congress  ,  that,  previ- 
ous to  your  dissolution  as  an  army,  they  will  cause  all 
your  accounts  to  be  fairly  liquidated,  as  directed  m  the 
resolutions  which  were  published  to  you  two  days  ago ; 
and  that  they  will  adopt  the  most  effectual  measures  in 
their  power  to  render  ample  justice  to  you  for  your 
faithful  and  meritorious  services.  And  let  me  conjure 
you,  in  the  name  of  our  common  country,  as  you  value 
your  own  sacred  honor,  as  you  respect  the  rights  of 
humanity,  and  as  you  regard  the  military  and  national 
character  of  America,  to  express  your  utmost  horror 
and  detestation  of  the  man  who  wishes,  under  any 
specious  pretences,  to  overturn  the  liberties  of  our 
country ;  and  who  wickedly  attempts  to  open  the  flood- 
gates of  civil  discord,  and  deluge  our  rising  empire 
in  blood.  By  thus  determining  and  thus  acting,  you 
will  pursue  the  plain  and  direct  road  to  the  attainment 
of  your  wishes ;  you  will  defeat  the  insidious  designs 
of  our  enemies,  who  are  compelled  to  resort  from  open 
force  to  secret  artifice  ;  you  will  give  one  more  distin- 
guished proof  of  unexampled  patriotism  and  patient 
virtue,  rising  superior  to  the  pressure  of  the  most  com- 
plicated sufferings ;  and  you  will,  by  the  dignity  of 
your  conduct,  afford  occasion  for  posterity  to  say,  when 
speaking  of  the  glorious  example  you  have  exhibited  to 
mankind ; — *  Had  this  day  been  wanting,  the  world 
had  never  seen  the  last  stage  of  perfection  to  which 
human  nature  is  capable  of  attaining. 


>  it 


1783.]         WASHINGTON    ADDRESSES    THE    AUMY.  415 

After  he  liad  concluded  the  address,  he  observed 
that  as  a  corroborating  testimony  of  the  good  disposi- 
tion in  Congress  toward  the  army,  he  would  commu- 
nicate to  them  a  letter  received  from  a  worthy  member 
of  that  body,  who  on  all  occasions  had  approved  him- 
self their  fast  friend.  He  produced  an  able  letter  from 
the  Hon.  Joseph  Jones,  which  while  it  pointed  out  the 
difficulties  and  embarrassments  of  Congress,  held  up 
very  forcibly  the  idea  that  the  army  would,  at  all  events, 
be  generously  dealt  with. 

]\Iajor  Shaw,  who  was  present,  and  from  whose 
memoir  we  note  this  scene,  relates  that  Washington, 
after  reading  the  first  paragraph  of  the  letter,  made  a 
short  pause,  took  out  his  spectacles,  and  begged  the 
indulgence  of  his  audience  while  he  put  them  on,  ob- 
serving at  the  same  time  that  he  had  groion  grmj  in 
their  service,  and  now  found  himself  groioing  blind. 
"  There  was  something,"  adds  Shaw,  "  so  natural,  so 
unaffected,  m  this  appeal,  as  rendered  it  superior  to  the 
most  studied  oratory  ;  it  forced  its  way  to  the  heart, 
and  you  might  see  sensibility  moisten  every  eye." 

"  Happy  for  America,"  continues  Major  Shaw, 
"that  she  has  a  patriot  army,  and  equally  so  that 
Washington  is  its  leader  I  rejoice  in  the  opportuni- 
ties I  have  had  of  seeing  this  great  man  in  a  variety 
of  situations ; — calm  and  intrepid  when  the  battle 
raged  ,  patient  and  persevering  under  the  pressure  of 
misfortune,  moderate  and  possessing  himself  in  the  full 
career  of  victory  Great  as  these  qualifications  de- 
servedly render  him,  he  never  appeared  to  me  more 
truly  so  than  at  the  assembly  we  have  been  speaking 
of.     On  other  occasions  he  has  been  supported  by  the 


416  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

exertions  of  an  army  and  the  countenance  of  his 
friends ;  but  on  this  he  stood  single  and  alone.  There 
was  no  saying  where  the  passions  of  an  army  which 
were  not  a  little  inflamed,  might  lead ;  but  it  was  gen- 
erally allowed  that  further  forbearance  was  dangerous, 
and  moderation  had  ceased  to  be  a  virtue.  Undei 
these  circumstances  he  appeared,  not  at  the  head  of  his 
troops,  but,  as  it  were,  in  opposition  to  them ;  and  for 
a  dreadful  moment  the  interests  of  the  army  and  its 
general  seemed  to  be  in  competition !  He  spoke, — 
every  doubt  was  dispelled,  and  the  tide  of  patriotism 
rolled  again  in  its  wonted  course.  Illustrious  man  ! 
What  he  says  of  the  army  may  with  equal  justice  be 
applied  to  his  own  character : — '  Had  this  day  been 
wanting,  the  world  had  never  seen  the  last  stage  of 
perfection  to  which  human  nature  is  capable  of  at- 

J     •     •  y  yj  Alt 

taming       '^ 

The  moment  Washington  retired  from  the  assem- 
blage, a  resolution  was  moved  by  the.  warm-hearted 
Knox,  seconded  by  General  Putnam,  and  passed  unani- 
mously, assuring  him  that  the  officers  reciprocated  his 
affectionate  expressions  with  the  greatest  sincerity  of 
which  the  human  heart  is  capable.  Then  followed 
resolutions,  declaring  that  no  circumstances  of  distress 
or  danger  should  induce  a  conduct  calculated  to  sully  the 
reputation  and  glory  acquired  at  the  price  of  their 
blood  and  eight  years'  faithful  services ,  that  they 
continued  to  have  an  unshaken  confidence  in  the  jus- 
tice of  Congress  and  their  country ;  and  that  the  com- 
mander-m-chief  should  be  requested  to  write  to  the 

•  Quincy's  Memoir  of  Major  Shaw,  p.  104. 


1783.]  LETTER   IN    BEHALF   OF   THE    ARMY.  417 

President  of  Congress,  earnestly  entreating  a  speedy 
decision  on  the  late  address  forwarded  by  a  committee 
of  the  army. 

A  letter  was  accordmgly  written  by  Washington, 
breathing  that  generous,  yet  well-tempered  spirit,  with 
which  he  ever  pleaded  the  cause  of  the  army 

"  The  result  of  the  proceedmgs  of  the  grand  con- 
vention of  officers,"  said  he,  "  which  I  have  the  honor  of 
enclosing  to  your  Excellency  for  the  inspection  of  Con- 
gress, will,  I  flatter  myself,  be  considered  as  the  last 
glorious  proof  of  patriotism  which  could  have  been 
given  by  men  who  aspired  to  the  distinction  of  a  patriot 
army,  and  will  not  only  confirm  their  claim  to  the  jus- 
tice, but  will  increase  their  title  to  the  gratitude,  of 
their  country. 

"  Having  seen  the  proceedmgs  on  the  part  of  the 
army  terminate  with  perfect  unanimity,  and  in  a  man- 
ner entirely  consonant  to  my  wishes  ;  being  impressed 
with  the  livelier  sentiments  of  affection  for  those  who 
have  so  long,  so  patiently,  and  so  cheerfully  suffered 
and  fought  under  my  immediate  direction;  having, 
from  motives  of  justice,  duty  and  gratitude,  spontane- 
ously offered  myself  as  an  advocate  for  their  rights  ; 
and  having  been  requested  to  write  to  your  Excellency, 
earnestly  entreating  the  most  speedy  decision  of  Con- 
gress upon  the  subjects  of  the  late  address  from  the 
army  to  that  honorable  body  ;  it  only  remains  for  me 
to  perform  the  task  I  have  assumed,  and  to  intercede 
on  their  behalf,  as  I  now  do,  that  the  sovereign  power 
will  be  pleased  to  verify  the  predictions  I  have  pro- 
nounced, and  the  confidence  the  army  have  reposed  in 
the  justice  of  their  country." 

VOL.  IV  — 27 


418  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

After  referring  to  former  representations  made  by 
him  to  Congress  on  the  subject  of  a  half  pay  to  be 
granted  to  officers  for  life,  he  adds :  "  If,  besides  the 
simple  payment  of  their  wages,  a  further  compensation 
is  not  due  to  the  sufferings  and  sacrifices  of  the  officers, 
then  have  I  been  mistaken  indeed.  If  the  whole  army 
have  not  merited  whatever  a  grateful  people  can  bestow, 
then  have  I  been  beguiled  by  prejudice  and  buUt  opin- 
ion on  the  basis  of  error  If  this  country  should  not, 
in  the  event,  perform  every  thing  which  has  been  re- 
quested in  the  late  memorial  to  Congress,  then  will  my 
belief  become  vam,  and  the  hope  that  has  been  excited, 
void  of  foundation.  And  if,  as  has  been  suggested  for 
the  purpose  of  inflaming  their  passions,  *the  officers 
of  the  army  are  to  be  the  only  sufferers  by  the  Revolu- 
tion ,  if,  retiring  from  the  field,  they  are  to  grow  old  in 
poverty,  wretchedness,  and  contempt ;  if  they  are  to 
wade  through  the  vile  mire  of  dependency,  and  owe 
the  miserable  remnant  of  that  life  to  charity,  which 
has  hitherto  been  spent  m  honor , '  then  shall  I  have 
learned  what  ingratitude  is,  then  shall  I  have  realized  a 
tale  which  wiU  embitter  every  moment  of  my  future 
life.  But  I  am  under  no  such  apprehensions.  A 
country,  rescued  by  their  arms  from  impending  rum, 
^vill  never  leave  unpaid  the  debt  of  gratitude." 

This  letter  to  the  president  was  accompanied  by 
other  letters  to  members  of  Congress ;  all  making 
similar  direct  and  eloquent  appeals.  The  subject  was 
again  taken  up  in  Congress,  nine  States  concurred  in 
a  resolution  commuting  the  half  pay  into  a  sum  equal 
to  five  years'  whole  pay ;  and  the  whole  matter,  at  one 
moment  so  fraught  with  danger  to  the  repubhc,  through 


1T83.]      ATTHOU   OF   THE   ANONYMOUS   LETTERS.        419 

the  temperate  wisdom  of  Washington,  was  happily 
adjusted. 

The  anonymous  addresses  to  the  army,  which  were 
considered  at  the  time  so  insidious  and  inflammatory, 
and  which  certainly  were  ill-judged  and  dangerous, 
have  since  been  avowed  by  General  John  Armstrong, 
a  man  who  has  sustained  with  great  credit  to  himself 
various  eminent  posts  under  our  government.  At  the 
time  of  writing  them  he  was  a  young  man,  aide-de- 
camp to  General  Gates,  and  he  did  it  at  the  request  of 
a  number  of  his  fellow-officers,  indignant  at  the  neglect 
of  their  just  claims  by  Congress,  and  in  the  belief  that 
the  tardy  movements  of  that  body  required  the  spur 
and  the  lash.  Washington,  in  a  letter  dated  23d  Jan- 
uary, 1797,  says,  "  I  have  since  had  sufficient  reason  for 
believing  that  the  object  of  the  author  was  just,  honor- 
able, and  friendly  to  the  country,  though  the  means 
suggested  by  him  were  certainly  hable  to  much  mis- 
understanding and  abuse." 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

NEW9  OF  PEACE — ^I.ETTEK  OF  ■WASHINGTON'  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  ARMT 
— CESSATION  OF  HOSTILITIES  PEOOLAIMED — OBDER  OF  THE  CINCIN- 
NATI FORMED — LETTER  OF  "WASHINGTON  TO  THE  STATE  G0VERN0B8 
— MUTINY  IN  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  LINE — ^LETTER  OF  WASHINGTON 
ON  THE  SUBJECT — TOUR  TO  THE  NORTHERN  POSTS. 

At  length  arrived  the  wished-for  news  of  peace.  A 
general  treaty  had  been  signed  at  Paris  on  the  20th  of 
January.  An  armed  vessel,  the  Triumph,  belonging  to 
the  Count  d'Estaing's  squadron,  arrived  at  Philadelphia 
from  Cadiz,  on  the  23d  of  March,  bringing  a  letter  from 
the  Marquis  de  Lafayette  to  the  President  of  Congress, 
communicating  the  inteUigence.  In  a  few  days  Sir 
Guy  Carleton  informed  Washington  by  letter,  that  he 
was  ordered  to  proclaim  a  cessation  of  hostilities  by  sea 
and  land. 

A  similar  proclamation  issued  by  Congress,  was  re- 
ceived by  Washington  on  the  17th  of  April.  Being 
unaccompanied  by  any  instructions  respecting  the  dis- 
charge of  the  part  of  the  army  with  him,  should  the 
measure  be  deemed  necessary,  he  found  himself  in  a 
perplexing  situation. 

TKe  accounts  of  peace  received  at  different  times, 
had  raised  an  expectation  in  the  minds  of  those  of  his 


1T83.]  A   PLEA   FOB,   THE    SOLDIERS,  i  421 

troops  that  had  engaged  "  for  the  war,"  that  a  speedy 
discharge  must  be  the  consequence  of  the  proclamation. 
Most  of  them  could  not  distinguish  between  a  procla- 
mation of  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  and  a  definitive  dec- 
laration of  peace,  and  might  consider  any  further  claim 
on  their  military  services  an  act  of  injustice.  It  was 
becoming  difficult  to  enforce  the  discipline  necessary  to 
the  coherence  of  an  army.  Washington  represented 
these  circumstances  in  a  letter  to  the  president,  and 
earaestly  entreated  a  prompt  determination  on  the  part 
of  Congress,  as  to  what  was  to  be  the  period  of  the 
services  of  these  men,  and  how  he  was  to  act  respecting 
their  discharge- 
One  suggestion  of  his  letter  is  expressive  of  his 
strong  sympathy  with  the  patriot  soldier,  and  his  knowl- 
edge of  what  formed  a  matter  of  pride  with  the  poor 
fellows  who  had  served  and  suffiered  under  hira.  He 
urged  that,  in  discharging  those  who  had  been  engaged 
"  for  the  war,"  the  non-commissioned  officers  and  sol- 
diers should  be  allowed  to  take  with  them,  as  their  own 
property,  and  as  a  gratuity,  their  arms  and  accoutre- 
ments. "  This  act,"  observes  he,  "would  raise  pleasing 
sensations  in  the  minds  of  these  worthy  and  faithful 
men,  who,  from  their  early  engaging  m  the  war  at 
moderate  bounties,  and  from  their  patient  continuance 
under  innumerable  distresses,  have  not  only  deserved 
nobly  of  their  country,  but  have  obtained  an  honorable 
distinction  over  those,  who,  with  shorter  terms,  have 
gained  large  pecuniary  rewards.  This,  at  a  compara- 
tively small  expense,  would  be  deemed  an  honorable 
testimonial  from  Congress  of  the  regard  they  bear  to 


432  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

these  distinguished  worthies,  and  the  sense  they  have 
of  their  suffering  virtues  and  services.     *     *     « 

"  These  constant  companions  of  their  toils,  preserved 
with  sacred  attention,  would  be  handed  down  from  the 
present  possessors  to  their  children,  as  honorary  badges 
of  bravery  and  military  merit ,  and  would  probably  be 
brought  forth  on  some  future  occasion,  with  pride  and 
exultation,  to  be  improved  with  the  same  mihtary  ardor 
and  emulation  m  the  hands  of  posterity,  as  they  have 
been  used  by  their  forefathers  in  the  present  establish- 
ment and  foundation  of  our  national  independence  and 
glory." 

This  letter  despatched,  he  notified  m  general  orders 
that  the  cessation  of  hostilities  should  be  proclaimed  at 
noon  on  the  following  day,  and  read  iu  the  evening  at 
the  head  of  every  regiment  and  corps  of  the  army, 
"  after  which,"  adds  he,  "  the  chaplains  with  the  several 
brigades  will  render  thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  all  his 
mercies,  particularly  for  his  overruMng  the  wrath  of  man 
to  his  own  glory,  and  causing  the  rage  of  war  to  cease 
among  the  nations." 

Having  noticed  that  this  auspicious  day,  the  19th 
of  April,  completed  the  eighth  year  of  the  war,  and  was 
the  anniversary  of  the  eventful  conflict  at  Lexington, 
he  went  on  in  general  orders,  to  impress  upon  the  army 
a  proper  idea  of  the  dignified  part  they  were  called 
upon  to  act. 

"  The  generous  task  for  which  we  first  flew  to  arms 
being  accomplished ,  the  liberties  of  our  country  being 
fully  acknowledged,  and  firmly  secured,  and  the  char- 
acters of  those  who  have  persevered  through  every  ex- 
tremity of  hardship,  suffering,  and  danger,  bemg  im- 


l'?83.]  FURLOUGHS    GRANTED.  423 

mortalized  by  the  illustrious  appellation  of  the  patriot 
army,  nothing  now  remains,  but  for  the  actors  of  this 
mighty  scene  to  preserve  a  perfect,  unvarying  consisten- 
cy of  character  through  the  very  last  act,  to  close  the 
drama  with  applause,  and  to  retire  from  the  military 
theatre  with  the  same  approbation  of  angels  and  men 
which  has  crowned  all  their  former  virtuous  actions." 

The  letter  which  he  had  written  to  the  president 
produced  a  resolution  in  Congress,  that  the  service  of 
the  men  engaged  in  the  war  did  not  expire  imtil  the 
ratification  of  the  definitive  articles  of  peace ,  but  that 
the  commander-in-chief  might  grant  furloughs  to  such 
as  he  thought  proper,  and  that  they  should  be  allowed 
to  take  their  arms  with  them. 

Washington  availed  himself  freely  of  this  permis- 
sion :  furloughs  were  granted  without  stint ,  the  men 
set  out  singly  or  m  small  parties  for  their  rustic  homes, 
and  the  danger  and  inconvenience  were  avoided  of  dis- 
banding large  masses,  at  a  time,  of  unpaid  soldiery. 
Now  and  then  were  to  be  seen  tliree  or  four  in  a  group, 
bound  probably  to  the  same  neighborhood,  beguiling 
the  way  mth  camp  jokes  and  camp  stories.  The  war- 
worn soldier  was  always  kmdly  received  at  the  farm- 
houses along  the  road,  where  he  might  shoulder  his  gun 
and  fight  over  his  battles.  The  men  thus  dismissed  on 
fm-lough  were  never  called  upon  to  rejoin  the  army. 
Once  at  home,  they  sank  into  domestic  life ,  their  weap- 
ons were  hung  up  over  then*  fire-places ,  military  tro- 
phies of  the  Revolution  to  be  pnzed  by  future  genera- 
tions. 

In  the  mean  time  Sir  Guy  Carleton  was  making  pre- 
parations for  the  evacuation  of  the  City  of  New  York. 


424  LIFE    OF  WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

The  moment  he  had  received  the  royal  order  for  the 
cessation  of  hostihties,  he  had  written  for  all  the  ship- 
ping that  could  be  procured  from  Europe  and  the  West 
Indies.  As  early  as  the  27th  of  April  a  fleet  had  sail- 
ed for  different  parts  of  Nova  Scotia,  carrying  off  about 
seven  thousand  persons,  with  all  their  effects.  A  great 
part  of  these  were  troops,  but  many  were  royalists  and 
refugees,  exiled  by  the  laws  of  the  United  States.  They 
looked  forward  with  a  dreary  eye  to  their  voyage, 
"  bound,"  as  one  of  them  said,  "  to  a  country  where 
there  were  nine  months  of  winter  and  three  months  of 
cold  weather  every  year  " 

On  the  6th  of  May  a  personal  conference  took  place 
between  Washington  and  Sir  Guy  at  Orangetown, 
about  the  transfer  of  posts  in  the  United  States  held 
by  the  British  troops,  and  the  deUvery  of  all  property 
stipulated  by  the  treaty  to  be  given  up  to  the  Ameri- 
cans. On  the  8th  of  May  Egbert  Benson,  William  S. 
Smith,  and  Daniel  Parker,  were  commissioned  by  Con- 
gress to  inspect  and  superintend  at  New  York  the  em- 
barkation of  persons  and  property,  in  fulfilment  of  the 
seventh  article  of  the  provisional  treaty 

While  sadness  and  despair  prevailed  among  the 
tories  and  refugees  in  New  York,  the  officers  in  the  pa- 
triot camp  on  the  Hudson  were  not  without  gloomy 
feelings  at  the  thought  of  their  approaching  separation 
from  each  other  Eight  years  of  dangers  and  hard- 
ships, shared  in  common  and  nobly  sustained,  had 
welded  their  hearts  together,  and  made  it  hard  to  rend 
them  asunder  Prompted  by  such  feelings,  General 
Knox,  ever  noted  for  generous  impulses,  suggested,  as 
a  mode  of  perpetuating  the  friendships  thus  formed,  and 


1783.]  SOCIETY   OF   THE    CINCINNATI.  425 

keeping  alive  the  brotherhood  of  the  camp,  the  forma- 
tion of  a  society  composed  of  the  officers  of  the  army 
The  siiQ^2;estion  met  with  universal  concurrence,  and 
the  hearty  approbation  of  Washington. 

]\Ieetings  were  held,  at  which  the  Baron  Steuben, 
as  senior  officer,  presided.  A  plan  was  drafted  by 
a  committee  composed  of  Generals  Knox,  Hand,  and 
Huntingdon,  and  Captain  Shaw  ;  and  the  society  was 
organized  at  a  meeting  held  on  the  l3th  of  May,  at 
the  baron's  quarters  in  the  old  Verplanck  House,  near 
Fishkill. 

By  its  formula,  the  officers  of  the  American  army 
in  the  most  solemn  manner  combined  themselves  into 
one  society  of  friends  to  endure  as  long  as  they  should 
endure,  or  any  of  their  eldest  male  posterity,  and  in 
failure  thereof,  the  collateral  branches  who  might  be 
judged  worthy  of  becoming  its  supporters  and  mem- 
bers. In  memory  of  the  illustrious  Roman,  Lucius 
Quintius  Cincmnatus,  who  retired  from  war  to  the  peace- 
ful duties  of  the  citizen,  it  was  to  be  called  "  The  So- 
ciety of  the  Cincinnati."  The  objects  proposed  by  it 
were  to  preserve  inviolate  the  rights  and  liberties  for 
which  they  had  contended,  to  promote  and  cherish 
national  honor  and  union  between  the  States ;  to 
maintain  brotherly  kindness  toAvard  each  other,  and 
extend  relief  to  such  officers  and  their  families  as 
might  stand  in  need  of  it. 

In  order  to  obtain  funds  for  the  purpose,  each  offi- 
cer Avas  to  contribute  one  month's  pay,  the  mterest  only 
to  be  appropriated  to  the  relief  of  the  unfortunate. 
The  general  society,  for  the  sake  of  frequent  communi- 
cations, was  to  be  divided  into  State  societies,  and  these 


426  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

again  into  districts.  The  general  society  was  to  meet 
annually  on  the  first  Monday  in  May,  the  State  societies 
on  eacli  4th  of  July,  the  districts  as  often  as  should  be 
agreed  on  by  the  State  society. 

The  society  was  to  have  an  insignia  called  "  the 
Order  of  the  Cincinnati."  It  was  to  be  a  golden 
American  eagle,  bearing  on  its  breast  emblematical  de- 
vices ,  this  was  to  be  suspended  by  a  deep-blue  ribbon 
two  inches  wide,  edged  with  white  ,  significative  of  the 
union  of  America  with  Prance. 

Individuals  of  the  respective  States,  distinguished 
for  patriotism  and  talents,  might  be  admitted  as  hono- 
rary members  for  life ;  their  numbers  never  to  exceed  a 
ratio  of  one  to  four.  The  French  ministers  who  had 
officiated  at  Philadelphia,  and  the  French  admirals, 
generals,  and  colonels  who  had  sei-ved  in  the  United 
States,  were  to  be  presented  with  the  insignia  of  the 
order  and  invited  to  become  members. 

Washington  was  chosen  unanimously  to  officiate  as 
president  of  it,  until  the  first  general  meetmg,  to  be 
held  m  May,  1784. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  Washington  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  governors  of  the  several  States  on  the  subject  of 
the  dissolution  of  the  army.  The  opening  of  it  breathes 
that  aspiration  after  the  serene  quiet  of  private  life, 
which  had  been  his  dream  of  happiness  throughout  the 
storms  and  trials  of  his  anxious  career,  but  the  full 
fruition  of  which  he  was  never  to  reahze. 

"  The  great  object,"  said  he,  "  for  which  I  had  the 
honor  to  hold  an  appointment  in  the  service  of  my 
country  being  accomplished,  I  am  now  preparing  to 
return  to  that  domestic  retirement  which,  it  is  well 


1783.]     CIRCULAR  LETTER  TO   THE    GOVERNORS.        427 

known,  I  left  with  the  greatest  reluctance ;  a  retirement 
for  which  I  have  never  ceased  to  sigh,  through  a  long 
and  painful  absence,  and  in  which  (remote  from  the 
noise  and  trouble  of  the  world)  I  meditate  to  pass  the 
remamder  of  life  in  a  state  of  undisturbed  repose." 

Ilis  letter  then  described  the  enviable  condition  of 
the  citizens  of  America.  "  Sole  lords  and  proprietors 
of  a  vast  tract  of  continent,  comprehending  all  the  va- 
rious soils  and  climates  of  the  world,  and  abounding 
with  all  the  necessaries  and  conveniences  of  life ;  and 
acknowledged  possessors  of  '  absolute  freedom  and  in- 
dependency.' "  This  is  the  time,"  said  he,  "  of  their 
political  probation ;  this  is  the  moment  when  the  eyea 
of  the  whole  world  are  turned  upon  them  ;  this  is  the 
moment  to  establish  or  ruin  tlieir  national  character 
for  ever  This  is  the  favorable  moment  to  give  such  a 
tone  to  the  federal  government,  as  wiU  enable  it  to  an- 
swer the  ends  of  its  institution ;  or  this  may  be  the  mo- 
ment for  relaxing  the  powers  of  the  Union,  annihilating 
the  cement  of  the  confederation,  and  exposing  us  to  be- 
come the  sport  of  European  politics,  which  may  play 
one  State  against  another,  to  prevent  their  growing  im- 
portance, and  to  serve  their  own  interested  purposes. 

"  With  this  conviction  of  the  importance  of  the 
present  crisis,  silence  in  me  would  be  a  crime.  I  wiU 
therefore  speak  the  language  of  freedom  and  sincerity 
without  disguise. 

"  I  am  aware,  however,"  continues  he,  modestly, 
"  that  those  who  differ  from  me  in  political  sentiment 
may  perhaps  remark,  that  I  am  stepping  out  of  the 
proper  line  of  my  duty,  and  may  possibly  ascribe  to 
arrogance  or  ostentation,  what  I  know  is  the  result  of 


428  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

the  purest  intention.  But  the  rectitude  of  my  own 
heart,  which  disdains  such  unworthy  motives ;  the  part 
I  have  hitherto  acted  in  hfe  ,  the  determination  I  have 
formed  of  not  taking  any  share  in  pubhc  business  here- 
after ;  the  ardent  desire  I  feel,  and  shall  continue  to 
manifest,  of  quietly  enjoying,  in  private  life,  after  all 
the  toils  of  war,  the  benefits  of  a  wise  and  liberal  gov- 
ernment ,  will,  I  flatter  myself,  sooner  or  later  convince 
my  countrymen  that  I  could  have  no  sinister  views  m 
delivering  with  so  little  reserve,  the  opinions  contamed 
in  this  address." 

He  then  proceeded  ably  and  eloquently  to  discuss 
what  he  considered  the  four  things  essential  to  the  well- 
being,  and  even  the  existence  of  the  United  States  as 
an  independent  power. 

Pirst.  An  indissoluble  union  of  the  States  mider 
one  federal  head,  and  a  perfect  acquiescence  of  the 
several  States,  in  the  full  exercise  of  the  prerogative 
vested  m  such  a  head  by  the  constitution. 

Second.  A  sacred  regard  to  public  justice  in  dis- 
charging debts  and  fulfilling  contracts  made  by  Con- 
gress, for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  war. 

Third.  The  adoption  of  a  proper  peace  establish- 
ment ,  in  which  care  should  be  taken  to  place  the  miU- 
tia  throughout  the  Union  on  a  regular,  uniform  and  effi- 
cient footing  "  The  militia  of  this  country,''  said  he, 
"  must  be  considered  as  the  palladium  of  our  security, 
and  the  first  effectual  resort  m  case  of  hostility.  It  is 
essential,  therefore,  that  the  same  system  should  per- 
vade the  whole ;  that  the  formation  and  discipline  of 
the  militia  of  the  continent  should  be  absolutely  uni- 
form, and  that  the  same  species  of  arms,  accoutrements 


1783.]     CIRCULAR  LETTER  TO   THE   GOVERNORS.         429 

and  military  apparatus  should  be  introduced  in  every 
part  of  the  United  States. 

And  fourth.  A  disposition  among  the  people  of  the 
United  States  to  forget  local  prejudices  and  policies ; 
to  make  mutual  concessions,  and  to  sacrifice  individual 
advantages  to  the  interests  of  the  community. 

These  four  things  Washington  pronounced  the 
pillars  on  which  the  glorious  character  must  be  sup- 
ported. "Liberty  is  the  basis,  and  whoever  would 
dare  to  sap  the  foundation,  or  overturn  the  structure, 
under  whatever  specious  pretext  he  may  attempt  it, 
will  merit  the  bitterest  execration  and  the  severest 
punishment  which  can  be  inflicted  by  his  injured  coun- 
try  " 

We  forbear  to  go  into  the  ample  and  admirable 
reasoning  with  which  he  expatiates  on  these  heads, 
and  above  all,  enforces  the  sacred  inviolability  of  the 
Union :  they  have  become  famihar  with  every  American 
mind,  and  ought  to  govern  every  American  heart.  Nor 
will  we  dwell  upon  his  touching  appeal  on  the  subject 
of  the  half  pay  and  commutation  promised  to  the  army, 
and  which  began  to  be  considered  in  the  odious  light 
of  a  pension.  "  That  provision,"  said  he,  "  should  be 
viewed  as  it  really  was — a  reasonable  compensation 
offered  by  Congress,  at  a  time  when  they  had  nothing 
else  to  give  to  the  officers  of  the  army  for  services  then 
to  be  performed.  It  was  the  only  means  to  prevent  a 
total  dereliction  of  the  service.  It  was  a  part  of 
their  hire.  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  it  was  the  price 
of  their  blood  and  of  your  independency  ;  it  is  there- 
fore more  than  a  common  debt,  it  is  a  debt  of  honor." 

Although  we  have  touched  upon  but  a  part  of  this 


430  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

admirable  letter,  we  cannot  omit  its  affecting  close, 
addressed  as  it  was  to  each  individual  governor. 

"  I  have  thus  freely  declared  what  I  wished  to 
make  known,  before  I  surrendered  up  my  public  trust 
to  those  who  committed  it  to  me.  The  task  is  now 
accomplished.  I  now  bid  adieu  to  your  Excellency, 
as  the  chief  magistrate  of  your  State,  at  the  same  time 
I  bid  a  last  farewell  to  the  cares  of  office  and  all  the 
employments  of  public  life. 

"  It  remains,  then,  to  be  my  final  and  only  request 
that  your  Excellency  will  communicate  these  sentiments 
to  your  legislature  at  their  next  meeting,  and  that  they 
may  be  considered  the  legacy  of  one,  who  has  ardently 
wished,  on  all  occasions,  to  be  useful  to  his  country,  and 
who,  even  in  the  shade  of  retirement,  will  not  fail  to 
implore  the  divine  benediction  on  it. 

"  I  now  make  it  my  earnest  prayer,  that  God  would 
have  you,  and  the  State  over  which  you  preside,  in  his 
holy  protection ;  that  he  would  incline  the  hearts  of 
the  citizens  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  subordination  and 
obedience  to  government,  to  entertain  a  brotherly  affec- 
tion and  love  for  one  another,  for  their  fellow-citizens 
of  the  United  States  at  large,  and  particularly  for 
brethren  who  have  sei-ved  in  the  field ;  and  finally  that 
he  would  most  graciously  be  pleased  to  dispose  us 
all  to  do  justice,  to  love  mercy,  and  to  demean  ourselves 
with  that  charity,  humility  and  pacific  temper  of  mind, 
which  are  the  characteristics  of  the  Divme  Author  of 
our  blessed  religion,  and  without  whose  example  in 
those  things  we  can  never  hope  to  be  a  happy  nation." 

While  the  patriot  army,  encamped  imder  the  eye  of 
Washington,  bore  their  hardships  and  privations  with- 


1783.]       MUTINY   IN    THE   PENNSYLVANIA   LINE.  431 

out  flinching,  or  returned  quietly  to  their  homes  with, 
as  yet,  no  actual  reward  but  the  weapons  with  which 
they  had  vindicated  their  country's  cause ;  about  eighty 
newly  recruited  soldiers  of  the  Pennsylvania  line,  sta- 
tioned at  Lancaster,  suddenly  mutinied  and  set  off  in  a 
body  for  Philadelphia,  to  demand  redress  of  fancied 
grievances  from  the  legislature  of  the  State.  Arriving 
at  that  city,  they  were  joined  by  about  two  hundred 
comrades  from  the  barracks,  and  proceeded  on  the  2d 
of  June  with  beat  of  drum  and  fixed  bayonets  to  the 
State  House,  where  Congress  and  the  supreme  executive 
council  of  Pennsylvania  were  in  session. 

Placing  sentinels  at  every  door  to  prevent  egress, 
they  sent  in  a  written  message  to  the  president  and 
council,  threatening  military  violence  if  their  demands 
were  not  complied  with  in  the  course  of  twenty 
minutes. 

Though  these  menaces  were  directed  against  the 
State  government.  Congress  felt  itself  outraged  by 
being  thus  surrounded  and  blockaded  for  several  hours 
by  an  armed  soldiery.  Pearmg  lest  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania might  not  be  able  to  furnish  adequate  protec- 
tion, it  adjourned  to  meet  within  a  few  days  at  Prince- 
ton ,  sending  information,  in  the  mean  time,  to  Wash- 
ington of  this  mutinous  outbreak. 

The  latter  immediately  detached  .General  Howe 
with  fifteen  hundred  men  to  quell  the  mutiny  and  pun- 
ish the  offenders ,  at  the  same  time,  in  a  letter  to  the 
President  of  Congress,  he  expressed  his  indignation 
and  distress  at  seeing  a  handful  of  men,  "  contemptible 
in  numbers  and  equally  so  in  point  of  service,  and  not 
worthy  to  be  called  soldiers,"  insulting  the  sovereign 


432  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

authority  of  the  Union,  and  that  of  their  own  State. 
He  vindicated  the  army  at  large,  hoAvever,  from  the 
stam  the  behavior  of  these  men  might  cast  upon  it. 
These  were  mere  recruits,  soldiers  of  a  day,  who  had 
not  borne  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  war,  and  had  in 
reality  few  hardships  to  complain  of.  He  contrasted 
their  conduct  with  that  of  the  soldiers  recently  fur- 
loughed  ; — 'Veterans,  who  had  patiently  endured  hunger, 
nakedness  and  cold  ;  who  had  suffered  and  bled  with- 
out a  murmur,  and  who  had  retired,  in  perfect  good 
order,  to  their  homes,  without  a  settlement  of  their 
accounts  or  a  farthing  of  money  in  their  pockets. 
While  he  gave  vent  to  this  indignation  and  scorn, 
roused  by  the  "  arrogance  and  folly  and  wickedness  of 
the  mutineers,"  he  declared  that  he  could  not  suffi- 
ciently admire  the  fidelity,  bravery,  and  patriotism  of 
the  rest  of  the  army. 

Fortunately,  before  the  troops  under  General  Howe 
reached  Philadelphia,  the  mutiny  had  been  suppressed 
without  bloodshed.  Several  of  the  mutineers  were 
tried  by  a  court-martial,  two  were  condemned  to  death, 
but  ultimately  pardoned,  and  four  received  corporal 
punishment. 

Washington  now  found  his  situation  at  head- quar- 
ters irksome  ,  there  was  httle  to  do,  and  he  was  hable 
to  be  incessantly  teased  with  apphcations  and  demands, 
which  he  had  neither  the  means  nor  power  to  satisfy. 
He  resolved,  therefore,  to  while  away  part  of  the  time 
that  must  intervene  before  the  arrival  of  the  definitive 
treaty,  by  making  a  tour  to  the  northern  and  western 
parts  of  the  State,  and  visiting  the  places  which  had 
been  the  theatre  of  important  mihtary  transactions. 


1783.]       TOUR   OF   WASHINGTON    AND    CLINTON.  433 

He  had  another  object  in  view  ;  he  desired  to  facilitate 
as  far  as  in  his  power  the  operations  which  would  be  ne- 
cessary for  occupying,  as  soon  as  evacuated  by  British 
troops,  the  posts  ceded  by  the  treaty  of  peace. 

Governor  Clinton  accompanied  him  on  the  expedi- 
tion. They  set  out  by  water  from  Newburg,  ascended 
the  Hudson  to  Albany,  visited  Saratoga  and  the  scene 
of  Burgoyne's  surrender,  embarked  on  Lake  George, 
where  light  boats  had  been  provided  for  them,  tra- 
versed that  beautiful  lake  so  full  of  historic  interest, 
proceeded  to  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point ;  and  after 
reconnoitring  those  eventful  posts,  returned  to  Sche- 
nectady, whence  they  proceeded  up  the  valley  of  the 
Mohawk  River,  "  to  have  a  view,"  writes  Washington, 
"  of  that  tract  of  country  which  is  so  much  celebrated 
for  the  fertility  of  its  soil  and  the  beauty  of  its  situa- 
tion." Having  reached  Port  Schuyler,  formerly  Fort 
Stanwix,  they  crossed  over  to  Wood  Creek,  which  empties 
into  Oneida  Lake,  and  affords  the  water  communica- 
tion with  Ontario.  They  then  traversed  the  country  to 
the  head  of  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Susquehanna, 
and  viewed  Lake  Otsego  and  the  portage  between  that 
lake  and  the  Mohawk  River. 

Washington  returned  to  head-quarters  at  Newburg 
on  the  5th  of  August,  after  a  tour  of  at  least  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  performed  in  nineteen  days, 
and  for  the  most  part  on  horseback.  In  a  letter  to  the 
Chevalier  de  Chastellux,  written  two  or  three  months 
afterwards,  and  giving  a  sketch  of  his  tour  through 
what  was,  as  yet,  an  unstudied  wilderness,  he  writes  : 
"  Prompted  by  these  actual  observations,  I  could  not 
help  taking  a  more  extensive  view  of  the  vast  inland 

VOL.  IT. — 28 


434  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

navigation  of  these  United  States  from  maps  and  the 
information  of  others;  and  could  not  but  be  struck 
with  the  immense  extent  and  importance  of  it,  and 
with  the  goodness  of  that  Providence  which  has  dealt 
its  favors  to  us  with  so  profuse  a  hand ;  would  to  God, 
we  may  have  wisdom  enough  to  improve  them.  I 
shall  not  rest  contented,  till  I  have  explored  the  western 
country  and  traversed  those  lines,  or  great  part  of  them, 
which  have  given  bounds  to  a  new  empire."  The  vast 
advantages  of  internal  communication  between  the 
Hudson  and  the  great  lakes  which  dawned  upon  Wash- 
ington's mind  in  the  course  of  this  tour,  have  since  been 
realized  in  that  grand  artery  of  national  wealth,  the 
Erie  Canal. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

THE  ARMY  TO  BE  DISOHAEGED — PARTINO  ADDRESS  OF  WASHINGTOII — 
EVACUATION  OF  NEW  TOEK — PAETINQ  SOENE  OF  WASniNOTON  WITH 
HIS  OFFICERS  AT  NEW  YORK — WASHINGTON  EE8I6NS  HIS  COMMISSION 
TO  00NGEES3 — RETIRES  TO  MOUNT   VERNON. 

By  a  proclamation  of  Congress,  dated  18th  of  Oc- 
tober, all  officers  and  soldiers  absent  on  furlougli  were 
discharged  from  further  service ;  and  all  others  who  had 
engaged  to  serve  during  the  war  were  to  be  discharged 
from  and  after  the  3d  of  November.  A  small  force 
only,  composed  of  those  who  had  enlisted  for  a  definite 
time,  were  to  be  retained  in  service  until  the  peace 
establishment  should  be  organized. 

In  general  orders  of  November  2d,  Washington, 
after  adverting  to  this  proclamation,  adds  .  "  It  only 
remains  for  the  commander-in-chief  to  address  himself 
once  more,  and  that  for  the  last  time,  to  the  armies  of 
the  United  States,  however  widely  dispersed  the  indi- 
viduals who  compose  them  may  be,  and  to  bid  them  an 
affectionate  and  a  long  farewell." 

He  then  goes  on  to  make  them  one  of  those  pater- 
nal addresses  which  so  eminently  characterize  his  rela- 
tionship with  his  army,  so  different  from  that  of  any 


436  LIFE    OF    WASHINGTON.  [1783 

other  commander  He  takes  a  brief  view  of  the  glori- 
ous but  painful  struggle  from  which  they  had  just 
emerged  ;  the  unpromismg  circumstances  under  which 
they  had  undertaken  it,  and  the  signal  interposition  of 
Providence  in  behalf  of  their  feeble  condition ,  the 
unparalleled  perseverance  of  the  American  armies  for 
eight  long  years,  through  almost  every  possible  suffer- 
ing and  discouragement ;  a  perseverance  which  he  justly 
pronounces  to  be  little  short  of  a  standing  miracle. 

Adverting  then  to  the  enlarged  prospects  of  happi- 
ness opened  by  the  confirmation  of  national  independ- 
ence and  sovereignty,  and  the  ample  and  profitable  em- 
ployments held  out  m  a  Republic  so  happily  circum- 
stanced, he  exhorts  them  to  maintain  the  strongest  at- 
tachment to  THE  UNION,  and  to  carry  with  them  into 
civil  society  the  most  conciliatory  dispositions ;  proving 
themselves  not  less  virtuous  and  useful  as  citizens,  than 
they  had  been  victorious  as  soldiers ,  feeling  assured 
that  the  private  virtues  of  economy,  prudence,  and  in- 
dustry would  not  be  less  amiable  m  civil  life,  than  the 
more  splendid  qualities  of  valor,  perseverance,  and 
enterprise  were  in  the  field. 

After  a  warm  expression  of  thanks  to  the  officers 
and  men  for  the  assistance  he  had  received  from  every 
class,  and  in  every  instance,  he  adds : 

"  To  the  various  branches  of  the  army  the  General 
takes  this  last  and  solemn  opportunity  of  professing  his 
invariable  attachment  and  friendship.  He  wishes  more 
than  bare  professions  were  in  his  power  ;  that  he  was 
really  able  to  be  useful  to  them  all  in  future  life.  He 
flatters  himself,  however,  they  will  do  him  the  justice 


1783.]  Washington's  farewell  to  the  army.     437 

to  believe,  that  whatever  could  with  propriety  be  at- 
tempted by  him  has  been  done. 

"  And  being  now  to  conclude  these  his  last  public 
orders,  to  take  his  ultimate  leave  in  a  short  time  of  the 
military  character,  and  to  bid  a  final  adieu  to  the  armies 
he  has  so  long  had  the  honor  to  command,  he  can  only 
offer  in  their  behalf  his  recommendations  to  their  grate- 
ful country,  and  his  prayers  to  the  God  of  armies. 
May  ample  justice  be  done  them  here,  and  may  the 
choicest  of  Heaven's  favors,  both  here  and  hereafter, 
attend  those  who,  under  the  Divine  auspices,  have  se- 
cured innumerable  blessings  for  others.  With  these 
mshes,  and  this  benediction,  the  commander-in-chief  is 
about  to  retire  from  service.  The  curtain  of  separa- 
tion will  soon  be  drawn,  and  the  mihtary  scene  to  him 
will  be  closed  for  ever." 

There  was  a  straightforward  simplicity  in  Washing- 
ton's addresses  to  his  army ,  they  were  so  void  of  tumid 
phrases  or  rhetorical  embellishments ,  the  counsels  given 
in  them  were  so  sound  and  practicable  ;  the  feelings  ex- 
pressed in  them  so  kind  and  benevolent ,  and  so  per- 
fectly in  accordance  with  his  character  and  conduct,  that 
they  always  had  an  irresistible  effect  on  the  rudest  and 
roughest  hearts. 

A  person  who  was  present  at  the  breaking  up  of 
the  army,  and  whom  we  have  had  frequent  occasion  to 
cite,  observes,  on  the  conduct  of  the  troops,  "  The  ad- 
vice of  their  beloved  commander-in-chief,  and  the  re- 
solves of  Congress  to  pay  and  compensate  them  m  such 
manner  as  the  ability  of  the  United  States  would  per- 
mit, operated  to  keep  them  quiet  and  prevent  tumult, 
but  no  description  would  be  adequate  to  the  painful 


438  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

circumstances  of  the  parting  scene."  "  Both  officers 
and  soldiers,  long  unaccustomed  to  the  affairs  of  private 
life,  turned  loose  on  the  world  to  starve,  and  to  become 
the  prey  to  vulture  speculators.  Never  can  that  mel- 
ancholy day  be  forgotten  when  friends,  companions  for 
seven  long  years  in  joy  and  m  sorrow,  were  torn  asunder 
without  the  hope  of  ever  meeting  again,  and  with  pros- 
pects of  a  miserable  subsistence  in  future."  * 

Notwithstandinn;  everv  exertion  had  been  made  for 
the  evacuation  of  New  York,  such  was  the  number  of 
persons  and  the  quantity  of  effects  of  all  kinds  to  be 
conveyed  away,  that  the  month  of  November  was  far 
advanced  before  it  could  be  completed.  Sir  Guy  Carle- 
ton  had  given  notice  to  Washington  of  the  time  he 
supposed  the  different  posts  would  be  vacated,  that  the 
Americans  might  be  prepared  to  take  possession  of 
them.  In  consequence  of  this  notice  General  George 
Clinton,  at  that  time  Governor  of  New  York,  had 
summoned  the  members  of  the  state  council  to  con- 
vene at  East  Chester  on  the  21st  of  November,  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  civil  government  in  the  districts 
hitherto  occupied  by  the  British ;  and  a  detachment  of 
troops  was  marched  from  West  Point  to  be  ready  to 
take  possession  of  the  posts  as  they  were  vacated. 

On  the  21st  the  British  troops  were  drawn  in  from 
the  oft-disputed  post  of  King's  Bridge  and  from  M'Gow- 
an's  Pass,  also  from  the  various  posts  on  the  eastern 
part  of  Long  Island.  Paulus  Hook  was  relinquished  on 
the  following  day,  and  the  afternoon  of  the  25th  of 
November  was  appointed  by  Sir  Guy  for  the  evacuation 
of  the  city  and  the  opposite  village  of  Brooklyn. 

•  Thacher,  p.  421. 


1783.]  EVACUATION    OF    NEW   YORK.  439 

Washington,  in  the  mean  time,  had  taken  his  station 
at  Hai-lem,  accompanied  by  Governor  Chnton,  who,  in 
virtue  of  his  office,  was  to  take  charge  of  the  city. 
They  found  there  General  Knox  with  the  detachment 
from  West  Point.  Sir  Guy  Carleton  had  intimated  a 
wish  that  Washington  would  be  at  hand  to  take  imme- 
diate possession  of  the  city  and  prevent  all  outrage,  as 
he  had  been  informed  of  a  plot  to  plunder  the  place 
whenever  the  king's  troops  should  be  withdrawn.  He 
had  engaged,  also,  that  the  guards  of  the  redoubts  on 
the  East  River,  covering  the  upper  part  of  the  town, 
should  be  the  first  to  be  withdrawn,  and  that  an  officer 
should  be  sent  to  give  Washington's  advanced  guard 
information  of  their  retiring. 

Although  Washington  doubted  the  existence  of  any 
such  plot  as  that  which  had  been  reported  to  the  Brit- 
ish commander,  yet  he  took  precautions  accordingly. 
On  the  morning  of  the  25  th  the  American  troops, 
composed  of  dragoons,  light  infantiy  and  artillery,  moved 
from  Harlem  to  the  Bowery  at  the  upper  part  of  the 
city.  There  they  remained  until  the  troops  m  that 
quarter  were  withdrai^Ti,  when  they  marched  into  the 
city  and  took  possession,  the  British  embarking  from 
the  lower  parts. 

A  formal  entry  then  took  place  of  the  military  and 
civil  authorities.  General  AVashington  and  Governor 
Clinton,  with  their  suites,  on  horseback,  led  the  proces- 
sion, escorted  by  a  troop  of  Westchester  cavalry.  Then 
came  the  lieutenant-governor  and  members  of  the 
council.  General  Knox  and  the  officers  of  the  army, 
the  speaker  of  the  Assembly,  and  a  large  number  of 
citizens  on  horseback  and  on  foot. 


440  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

An  American  lady,  who  was  at  that  time  very  young 
and  had  resided  during  the  latter  part  of  the  war  in  the 
city,  has  given  us  an  account  of  the  striking  contrast 
between  the  American  and  British  troops.  "  We  had 
been  accustomed  for  a  long  time,"  said  she,  "  to  mili- 
tary display  m  all  the  finish  and  finery  of  garrison  Hfe  ; 
the  troops  just  leaving  us  were  as  if  equipped  for  show, 
and  with  their  scarlet  uniforms  and  burnished  arms, 
made  a  brilliant  display  ;  the  troops  that  marched  in,  on 
the  contrary,  were  ill-clad  and  weather  beaten,  and  made 
a  forlorn  appearance ;  but  then  they  were  our  troops, 
and  as  I  looked  at  them  and  thought  upon  all  they  had 
done  and  suffered  for  us,  my  heart  and  my  eyes  were 
full,  and  I  admired  and  gloried  in  them  the  more,  be- 
cause they  were  weather  beaten  and  forlorn." 

The  city  was  now  a  scene  of  public  festivity  and  re- 
joicing The  governor  gave  banquets  to  the  French 
ambassador,  the  commander-in-chief,  the  military  and 
civil  officers,  and  a  large  number  of  the  most  eminent 
citizens,  and  at  night  the  public  were  entertained  by 
splendid  fireworks. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days  Washington  prepared 
to  depart  for  Annapolis,  where  Congress  was  assem- 
bling, with  the  intention  of  asking  leave  to  resign  his 
command.  A  barge  was  in  waiting  about  noon  on  the 
4th  of  December  at  Whitehall  ferry  to  convey  him  across 
the  Hudson  to  Paulus  Hook.  The  principal  officers  of 
the  army  assembled  at  Fraunces'  Tavern  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  ferry,  to  take  a  final  leave  of  him.  On  en- 
termg  the  room,  and  finding  himself  surrounded  by  his 
old  companions  in  arms,  who  had  shared  with  him 
so  many  scenes  of  hardship,  difficulty,  and  danger,  his 


1783.]  Washington's  farewell  to  his  officers.  441 

agitated  feelings  overcame  his  usual  self-command. 
Filling  a  glass  of  wine,  and  turning  upon  them  his  be- 
nignant but  saddened  countenance,  "  With  a  heart  full 
of  love  and  gratitude,"  said  he,  "  I  now  take  leave  of 
you,  most  devoutly  wishing  that  your  latter  days  may 
be  as  prosperous  and  happy  as  your  former  ones  have 
been  glorious  and  honorable." 

Having  drunk  this  farewell  benediction,  he  added 
with  emotion,  "  I  cannot  come  to  each  of  you  to  take 
my  leave,  but  shall  be  obliged  if  each  of  you  will  come 
and  take  me  by  the  hand." 

General  Knox,  who  was  nearest,  was  the  first  to 
advance.  Washington,  affected  even  to  tears,  grasped 
his  hand  and  gave  him  a  brother's  embrace.  In  the 
same  affectionate  manner  he  took  leave  severally  of  the 
rest.  Not  a  word  was  spoken.  The  deep  feeling  and 
manly  tenderness  of  these  veterans  in  the  parting  mo- 
ment could  find  no  utterance  in  words.  Silent  and 
solemn  they  followed  their  loved  commander  as  he  left 
the  room,  passed  through  a  corps  of  light  infantry,  and 
proceeded  on  foot  to  Whitehall  ferry.  Having  entered 
the  barge  he  turned  to  them,  took  off"  his  hat  and  waved 
a  silent  adieu.  They  replied  in  the  same  manner,  and 
having  watched  the  barge  until  the  intervening  point 
of  the  Battery  shut  it  from  sight,  returned  still  solemn 
and  silent  to  the  place  where  they  had  assembled.* 

On  his  way  to  Annapohs,  Washington  stopped  for 
a  few  days  at  Philadelphia,  where  with  his  usual  exact- 
ness in  matters  of  business,  he  adjusted  with  the  Comp- 
troller of  the  Treasury  his  accounts  from  the  commence- 

*  Marsliall'8  Life  of  Washington. 


442  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

ment  of  the  war  down  to  the  13th  of  the  actual  month 
of  December.  These  were  all  in  his  own  handwritmg, 
and  kept  in  the  cleanest  and  most  accurate  manner, 
each  entry  being  accompanied  by  a  statement  of  the 
occasion  and  object  of  the  charge. 

The  gross  amount  was  about  fourteen  thousand  five 
hundred  pounds  sterling;  in  which  were  included 
moneys  expended  for  secret  intelligence  and  service, 
and  in  various  incidental  charges.  AU  this,  it  must  be 
noted,  was  an  account  of  money  actually  expended  in 
the  progress  of  the  war ;  not  for  arrearage  of  pay ;  for 
it  m]l  be  recollected  Washington  accepted  no  pay.  In- 
deed on  the  final  adjustment  of  his  accounts,  he  found 
himself  a  considerable  loser,  having  frequently,  m  the 
hurry  of  business,  neglected  to  credit  himself  with  sums 
drawn  from  his  private  purse  in  moments  of  exigency. 

The  schedule  of  his  public  account  furnishes  not 
the  least  among  the  many  noble  and  impressive  lessons 
taught  by  his  character  and  example.  It  stands  a  touch- 
stone of  honesty  in  office,  and  a  lasting  rebuke  on  that 
lavish  expenditure  of  the  public  money,  too  often  heed- 
lessly, if  not  wilfully,  indulged  by  military  command- 
ers. 

In  passing  through  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Maryland,  the  scenes  of  his  anxious  and  precarious  cam- 
paigns, Washington  was  every  where  hailed  with  en- 
thusiasm by  the  people,  and  greeted  with  addresses  by 
legislative  assembhes,  and  learned  and  rehgious  insti- 
tutions. He  accepted  them  all  with  that  modesty  in- 
herent in  his  nature ;  little  thinking  that  this  present 
populanty  was  but  the  early  outbreaking  of  a  fame, 
that  was  to  go  on  widening  and  deepening  from  gener- 


1783.]    WASHINGTON    RESIGNS    HIS    COMMISSION.        443 

ation  to  generation,  and  extending  over  the  whole  civil- 
ized world. 

Being  arrived  at  Annapolis,  he  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  President  of  Congress,  on  the  20th  of  December, 
requesting  to  know  m  what  manner  it  would  be  most 
proper  to  offer  his  resignation ;  whether  in  writing  or 
at  an  audience.  The  latter  mode  was  adopted,  and  the 
Hall  of  Congress  appointed  for  the  ceremonial. 

A  letter  from  Washington  to  the  Baron  Steuben, 
written  on  the  23d,  concludes  as  follows-  *'Tlns  is 
the  last  letter  I  shall  AVTite  while  I  continue  m  the  ser- 
vice of  my  country.  The  hour  of  my  resignation  is 
fixed  at  tweh'e  to-day,  after  which,  I  shall  become  a 
private  citizen  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac." 

At  twelve  o'clock  the  gallery,  and  a  great  part  of 
the  floor  of  the  Hall  of  Congress,  were  filled  -with 
ladies,  with  public  functionaries  of  the  state,  and  with 
general  officers.  The  members  of  Congress  were  seated 
and  covered,  as  representatives  of  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Union.  The  gentlemen  present  as  spectators  were 
standing  and  imcovered. 

Washington  entered,  conducted  by  the  secretary 
of  Congress,  and  took  his  seat  in  a  chair  appointed  for 
him.  After  a  brief  pause,  the  president  (General  Mif- 
flin) informed  him,  that  "  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled,  were  prepared  to  receive  his  communica- 
tions." 

Washington  then  rose,  and  in  a  dignified  and  im- 
pressive manner,  dehvered  a  short  address. 

"  The  great  events,"  said  he,  "  on  which  my  resig- 
nation depended,  having  at  length  taken  place,  I  now 
have  the  honor  of  offering  my  sincere  congratulations 


444  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1783. 

to  Congress,  and  of  presenting  myself  before  them,  to 
surrender  into  their  hands  the  trust  committed  to  me, 
and  to  claim  the  indulgence  of  retiring  from  the  service 
of  my  country." 

After  expressing  his  obligations  to  the  army  in  gen- 
eral, and  acknowledging  the  peculiar  services,  and  dis- 
tinguished merits  of  the  confidential  officers  who  had 
been  attached  to  his  person,  and  composed  his  family 
during  the  war,  and  whom  he  especially  recommended 
to  the  favor  of  Congress,  he  continued — 

"  I  consider  it  an  indispensable  duty  to  close  this 
last  solemn  act  of  my  official  life,  by  commending  the 
interests  of  our  dearest  country  to  the  protection  of 
Almighty  God ,  and  those  who  have  the  supenntendence 
of  them,  to  his  holy  keeping. 

"  Having  now  finished  the  work  assigned  me,  I  retire 
from  the  great  theatre  of  action ;  and,  bidding  an  af- 
fectionate farewell  to  this  august  body,  under  whose 
orders  I  have  long  acted,  I  here  offer  my  commis- 
sion, and  take  my  leave  of  all  the  employments  of  pub- 
lic Ufe." 

"  Few  tragedies  ever  drew  so  many  tears  from  so 
many  beautiful  eyes,"  says  a  writer  who  was  present,  "  as 
the  moving  manner  in  which  his  Excellency  took  his  final 
leave  of  Congress."  * 

Having  delivered  his  commission  into  the  hands  of 
the  president,  the  latter,  in  reply  to  his  address,  bore 
testimony  to  the  patriotism  with  which  he  had  answered 
to  the  call  of  his  country,  and  defended  its  invaded 
rights  before  it  had  formed  alliances,  and  while  it  was 

*  Editor  of  the  Maiyland  Gazette. 


1783.]  EETURN   TO   MOUNT   VERNON.  445 

without  funds  or  a  government  to  support  him  ;  to  the 
wisdom  and  fortitude  with  which  he  had  conducted  the 
great  military  contest,  invariably  regarding  the  nghts 
of  the  civil  power,  through  all  disasters  and  changes. 
"  You  retire,"  added  he,  "  from  the  theatre  of  action 
with  the  blessings  of  your  fellow-citizens ;  but  the  glory 
of  your  virtues  will  not  terminate  with  your  military 
command ;  it  will  continue  to  animate  remotest  ages." 

The  very  next  morning  Washington  left  Annapolis, 
and  hastened  to  his  beloved  Mount  Vernon,  where  he 
arrived  the  same  day,  on  Christmas-eve,  in  a  frame  of 
mind  suited  to  enjoy  the  sacred  and  genial  festival. 

**  The  scene  is  at  last  closed,"  said  he  m  a  letter  to 
Governor  CUnton ;  "  I  feel  myself  eased  of  a  load  of 
public  care.  I  hope  to  spend  the  remainder  of  my 
days  in  cultivating  the  affections  of  good  men,  and  in 
the  practice  of  the  domestic  virtues.*' 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

WASmNGTON  AT  MOUNT  VEBNOIT — A  SOLDIEb's  REPOSE — PLANS  OF  DO- 
MESTIC LIFE — KIND  OFFER  OF  THE  COUNOIL  OF  PENNSYLVANIA — 
niSTOHIOAL   APPLICATIONS — NEWS   OF  JACOB    VAN  BEAAM — OPENING 

OF  SPRING AGRICULTURAL  LIFE  RESUMED — RECOLLECTIONS  OP  THE 

FAIRFAXES — MEETING  OF  THE  ORDER  OF  CINCINNATI — TOUR  OP 
"WASHINGTON  AND  DR.  CRAIK  TO  THE  WEST — IDEAS  OF  INTERNAL 
IMPROVEMENT — PARTING   WITH  LAFAYETTE. 

For  some  time  after  his  return  to  Mount  Vernon, 
Washington  was  in  a  manner  locked  up  by  the  ice 
and  snow  of  an  uncommonly  rigorous  winter,  so  that 
social  intercourse  was  interrupted,  and  he  could  not 
even  pay  a  visit  of  duty  and  affection  to  his  aged 
mother  at  Fredericksburg.  But  it  was  enough  for  him 
at  present  that  he  was  at  length  at  home  at  Mount 
Vernon.  Yet  the  habitudes  of  the  camp  still  haunted 
him ;  he  could  hardly  realize  that  he  was  free  from 
military  duties  ;  on  waking  in  the  morning  he  almost 
expected  to  hear  the  drum  going  its  stirnng  rounds  and 
beating  the  reveille. 

'*  Strange  as  it  may  seem,"  writes  he  to  General 
Knox,  "'it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  it  was  not  until 
very  lately  I  could  get  the  better  of  my  usual  custom 
of  ruminating  as  soon  as  I  waked  in  the  morning,  on 


1784.]  A  soldier's  repose.  447 

the  business  of  the  ensuing  day ;  and  of  my  surprise 
at  finding,  after  revolving  many  things  in  my  mind, 
that  I  was  no  longer  a  public  man,  nor  had  any  thing 
to  do  with  public  transactions.  I  feel  now,  however, 
as  I  conceive  a  weary  traveller  must  do,  who,  after 
treading  many  a  weary  step,  with  a  heavy  burthen  on 
his  shoulders,  is  eased  of  the  latter,  having  reached  the 
haven  to  which  all  the  former  were  directed,  and  from 
his  house-top  is  looking  back,  and  tracing,  with  an  eager 
eye,  the  meanders  by  which  he  escaped  the  quicksands 
and  mires  which  lay  in  his  way  ;  and  into  which  none 
but  the  all-powerful  Guide  and  Dispenser  of  human 
events  could  have  prevented  his  falling." 

And  in  a  letter  to  Lafayette  he  ^vrites:  "Free 
from  the  bustle  of  a  camp  and  the  busy  scenes  of 
public  life,  I  am  solacing  myself  with  those  tranquil 
enjoyments  which  the  soldier,  who  is  ever  in  pursuit 
of  fame ;  the  statesman,  whose  watchful  days  and  sleep- 
less nights  are  spent  in  devising  schemes  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  his  own,  perhaps  the  ruin  of  other  countries 
— as  if  this  globe  was  insufficient  for  us  all ;  and  the 
courtier,  who  is  always  watching  the  countenance  of  his 
prince  in  hopes  of  catching  a  gracious  smile,  can  have 
very  little  conception.  I  have  not  only  retired  from 
all  pubKc  employments,  but  I  am  retiring  within  my- 
self, and  shall  be  able  to  view  the  solitary  walk,  and 
tread  the  paths  of  private  life  with  heartfelt  satisfaction. 
Envious  of  none,  I  am  determmed  to  be  pleased  with 
all ;  and  this,  my  dear  friend,  being  the  order  of  my 
march,  I  will  move  gently  down  the  stream  of  life 
until  I  sleep  with  my  fathers." 

And  subsequently,  in  a  letter  to  the  Marchioness 


448  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1784. 

de  Lafayette,  inviting  her  to  America  to  see  the 
country,  "young,  rude,  and  uncultivated  as  it  is," 
for  the  liberties  of  which  her  husband  had  fought, 
bled,  and  acquired  much  glory,  and  where  every  body 
admired  and  loved  him,  he  adds :  **  I  am  now  enjoying 
domestic  ease  under  the  shadow  of  my  own  vine  and 
my  own  fig-tree,  in  a  small  villa,  with  the  implements 
of  husbandry  and  lambkins  about  me.  *  *  * 
Come,  then,  let  me  entreat  you,  and  call  my  cottage 
your  own  ,  for  your  doors  do  not  open  to  you  with  more 
readiness  than  mine  would.  You  wUl  see  the  plain 
manner  in  which  we  live,  and  meet  with  rustic  civility  ; 
and  you  shall  taste  the  simplicity  of  rural  Hfe.  It  will 
diversify  the  scene,  and  may  give  you  a  higher  rehsh 
for  the  gayeties  of  the  court  when  you  return  to  Ver- 
sailles." 

During  the  winter  storms,  he  anticipates  the  time 
when  the  return  of  the  sun  will  enable  him  to  welcome 
his  friends  and  companions  in  arms  to  partake  of  his 
hospitality ;  and  lays  down  his  unpretending  plan  of 
receiving  the  curious  visitors  who  are  likely  to  throng 
in  upon  him.  "My  manner  of  living,"  writes  he  to 
a  friend,  "  is  plain,  and  I  do  not  mean  to  be  put  out 
of  it.  A  glass  of  wine  and  a  bit  of  mutton  are  always 
ready ;  and  such  as  will  be  content  to  partake  of  them, 
are  always  welcome.  Those  who  expect  more  will  be 
disappointed." 

Some  degree  of  economy  was  necessary,  for  his 
financial  concerns  had  suffered  during  the  war,  and 
the  products  of  his  estate  had  fallen  off  during  his 
long  absence. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  supreme  council  of  Pennsyl- 


1784.]    OFFER  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  PENNSYLVANIA.     449 

vania,  properly  appreciating  the  disinterestedness  of 
his  conduct,  and  aware  that  popular  love  and  popu- 
lar curiosity  would  attract  crowds  of  visitors  to  Mount 
Vernon,  and  subject  him  to  extraordinary  expenses,  had 
instructed  their  delegates  in  Congress  to  call  the  atten- 
tion of  that  body  to  these  circumstances,  with  a  view  to 
produce  some  national  reward  for  his  eminent  services. 
Before  acting  upon  these  instructions,  the  delegates 
were  directed  to  send  a  copy  of  them  to  Washington 
for  his  approbation. 

He  received  the  document  while  buried  in  accounts 
and  calculations,  and  when,  had  he  been  of  a  merce- 
nary disposition,  the  offered  intervention  in  his  favor 
would  have  seemed  most  seasonable ,  but  he  at  once 
most  gratefully  and  respectfully  declined  it,  jealously 
maintaining  the  satisfaction  of  having  served  his  country 
at  the  sacrifice  of  his  private  interests. 

Applications  began  to  be  made  to  him  by  persons 
desirous  of  writing  the  history  of  the  Revolution,  for 
access  to  the  public  papers  m  his  possession.  He 
excused  himself  from  submitting  to  their  inspection* 
those  relative  to  the  occurrences  and  transactions  of 
his  late  command,  until  Congress  should  see  fit  to  open 
their  archives  to  the  historian. 

His  old  friend.  Dr.  Craik,  made  a  similar  appHcation 

to  Washington  m  behalf  of  a  person  who  purposed  to 

write  his  memoirs.     He  replied,  that  any  memoir  of 

his  Ufe  distinct  and  unconnected  with  the  general  history 

of  the  war,  would  rather  hurt  his  feelings  than  flatter 

his  pride,  while  he  could  not  furnish  the  papers  and  m- 

formation  connected  with  it  without  subjecting  bimself 

to  the  imputation  of  vanity,  adding  :  "  I  had  rathei 
VOL.  IV. — 29 


450  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1784. 

leave  it  to  posterity  to  think  and  say  what  they  please 
of  me,  than,  by  any  act  of  mine,  to  have  vanity  or 
ostentation  imputed  to  me." 

It  was  a  curious  circumstance,  that  scarce  had 
Washmgton  retired  from  the  bustle  of  arms  and  hung 
up  his  sword  at  Mount  Vernon,  when  he  received  a 
letter  from  the  worthy  who  had  first  taught  him  the 
use  of  that  sword  in  these  very  halls.  In  a  word, 
Jacob  Van  Braam,  his  early  teacher  of  the  sword  ex- 
ercise, his  fellow  campaigner  and  unlucky  interpreter  in 
the  affair  of  the  Great  Meadows,  turned  up  once  more. 
His  letter  gave  a  glance  over  the  current  of  his  life. 
It  would  appear  that  after  the  close  of  the  French  war, 
he  had  been  allowed  half  pay  in  consideration  of  his 
services  and  misadventures ;  and,  in  process  of  time, 
had  married,  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Wales  with  his 
wife  and  his  wife's  mother.  He  had  earned  with  him 
to  England  a  strong  feehng  in  favor  of  America,  and 
on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution  had  been  very 
free,  and,  as  he  seemed  to  think,  eloquent  and  effect- 
ive in  speaking  in  all  companies  and  at  country  meet- 
ings against  the  American  war.  Suddenly,  as  if  to 
stop  his  mouth,  he  received  orders  from  Lord  Amherst, 
then  commander-in-chief,  to  join  his  regiment  (the 
60th),  in  which  he  was  appointed  eldest  captain  in  the 
3d  battalion.  In  vain  he  pleaded  his  rural  occupations  ; 
his  farm  cultivated  at  so  much  cost,  for  which  he  was 
in  debt,  and  which  must  go  to  ruin  should  he  abandon 
it  so  abruptly.  No  excuse  was  admitted — ^he  must 
embark  and  sail  for  East  Florida,  or  lose  his  half  pay. 
He  accordingly  sailed  for  St.  Augustine  in  the  begin- 
ning of  1776,  with  a  couple  of  hundred  recruits  picked 


1T84.]  JACOB   VAN   BRAAM.  451 

up  in  London,  resolving  to  sell  out  of  the  army  on  the 
first  opportunity.  By  a  series  of  cross-purposes  he  was 
prevented  from  doing  so  until  in  1779,  having  in  the 
interim  made  a  campaign  in  Georgia.  "  He  quitted 
the  service,"  he  adds,  "  with  as  much  pleasure  as  ever 
a  young  man  entered  it." 

He  then  returned  to  England  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  Devonshire  ;  but  his  invincible  propensity  to 
talk  against  the  ministry  made  his  residence  there  un- 
comfortable. His  next  move,  therefore,  was  to  the  old 
fertile  province  of  Orleannois  in  France,  where  he  was 
still  living  near  Malesherbes,  apparently  at  his  ease, 
enjoying  the  friendship  of  the  distinguished  personage 
of  that  name,  and  better  versed,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  in 
the  French  language  than  when  he  officiated  as  inter- 
preter m  the  capitulation  at  the  Great  Meadows.  The 
worthy  major  appeared  to  contemplate  with  joy  and 
pride  the  eminence  to  which  his  early  pupil  m  the 
sword  exercise  had  attained. 

"  Give  me  leave,  sir,  before  I  conclude,"  writes  he, 
"  to  pour  out  the  sentiments  of  my  soul  in  congratula- 
tions for  your  successes  in  the  American  contest ;  and 
in  wishing  you  a  long  life,  to  enjoy  the  blessing  of  a 
great  people  whom  you  have  been  the  chief  instrument 
in  freeing  from  bondage." 

So  disappears  from  the  scene  one  of  the  earhest 
personages  of  our  history 

As  spring  advanced.  Mount  Vernon,  as  had  been 
anticipated,  began  to  attract  numerous  visitors.  They 
were  received  in  the  frank,  unpretending  style  Wash- 
ington had  determined  upon.  It  was  truly  edifying  to 
behold  how  easily  and  contentedly  he  subsided  from  the 


452  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1784. 

authoritative  commander-in-chief  of  armies,  into  the 
quiet  country  gentleman.  There  was  nothing  awkward 
or  violent  in  the  transition.  He  seemed  to  be  in  his 
natural  element.  Mrs.  Washmgton,  too,  who  had  pre- 
sided with  quiet  dignity  at  head-quarters,  and  cheered 
the  wintry  gloom  of  Valley  Forge  with  her  presence, 
presided  with  equal  amenity  and  grace  at  the  simple 
board  of  Mount  Vernon.  She  had  a  cheerful  good 
sense  that  always  made  her  an  agreeable  companion,  and 
was  an  excellent  manager.  She  has  been  remarked  for 
an  inveterate  habit  of  knitting  It  had  been  acquired, 
or  at  least  fostered,  in  the  wintry  encampments  of  the 
Revolution,  where  she  used  to  set  an  example  to  her 
lady  visitors,  by  diligently  plying  her  needles,  knitting 
stockings  for  the  poor  destitute  soldiery. 

In  entering  upon  the  out-door  management  of  his 
estate,  Washington  was  but  doing  in  person  what  he 
had  long  been  doing  through  others.  He  had  never 
virtually  ceased  to  be  the  agriculturist.  Throughout 
all  his  campaigns  be  had  kept  himself  informed  of  the 
course  of  rural  affairs  at  Mount  Vernon.  By  means 
of  maps  on  which  every  field  was  laid  down  and  num- 
bered, he  was  enabled  to  give  directions  for  their 
several  cultivation,  and  receive  accounts  of  their  several 
crops.  No  hurry  of  affairs  prevented  a  correspondence 
with  his  overseer  or  agent,  and  he  exacted  weekly 
reports.  Thus  his  rural,  were  interwoven  with  his 
military  cares  ;  the  agriculturist  was  mingled  with  the 
soldier  ,  and  those  strong  sympathies  \\dth  the  honest 
cultivators  of  the  soil,  and  that  paternal  care  of  their 
mterests  to  be  noted  throughout  his  military  career, 
may  be  ascribed,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  sweetening 


IVSjt.]  RECOLLECTIONS    OF   THE    FAIRFAXES.  453 

influences  of  Mount  Vernon.  Yet  as  spring  returned, 
and  he  resumed  his  rides  about  the  beautiful  neighbor- 
hood of  this  haven  of  his  hopes,  he  must  have  been 
mournfully  sensible,  now  and  then,  of  the  changes 
which  time  and  events  had  effected  there. 

The  Fairfaxes,  the  kind  friends  of  his  boyhood,  and 
social  companions  of  his  riper  years,  were  no  longer  at 
hand  to  share  his  pleasures  and  lighten  his  cares.  There 
were  no  more  hunting  dinners  at  Belvoir.  He  paid  a 
sad  visit  to  that  happy  resort  of  his  youth,  and  contem- 
plated with  a  mournful  eye  its  charred  ruins,  and  the 
desolation  of  its  once  ornamented  grounds.  George 
William  Fairfax,  its  former  possessor,  was  m  England ; 
his  political  principles  had  detained  him  there  during 
the  war,  and  part  of  his  property  had  been  sequestered ; 
still,  though  an  exile,  he  continued  in  heart  a  friend 
to  America,  his  hand  had  been  open  to  relieve  the  dis- 
tresses of  Americans  in  England,  and  he  had  kept  up  a 
cordial  correspondence  with  Washington. 

Old  Lord  Fairfax,  the  Nimrod  of  Greenway  Court, 
Washington's  early  friend  and  patron,  with  whom  he 
had  first  learned  to  follow  the  hounds,  had  lived  on  in 
a  green  old  age  at  his  sylvan  retreat  in  the  beautiful 
valley  of  the  Shenandoah  ;  popular  with  his  neighbors 
and  unmolested  by  the  Whigs,  although  frank  and 
open  in  his  adherence  to  Great  Britain.  He  had  at- 
tained his  ninety-second  year,  when  tidings  of  the  sur- 
render of  Yorktown  wounded  the  national  pride  of  the 
old  cavalier  to  the  quick,  and  snapped  the  attenuated 
thread  of  his  existence.* 

•  So,  at  least,  records  in  homelj  prose  and  verse  a  reverend  historiogra- 
gher  of  Mount  Vernon.     "  When  old  Lord  Fairfax  heard  that  Washington  had 


454  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1784. 

The  time  was  now  approaching  when  the  first  gen- 
eral meeting  of  the  Order  of  Cincinnati  was  to  be  held, 
and  Washington  saw  with  deep  concern  a  popular  jea- 
lousy awakened  concerning  it.  Judge  Burke,  of  South 
Carolina,  had  denounced  it  in  a  pamphlet  as  an  attempt 
to  elevate  the  military  above  the  civil  classes,  and  to  in- 
stitute an  order  of  nobility.  The  Legislature  of  Mas- 
sachusetts sounded  an  alarm  that  was  echoed  in  Con- 
necticut, and  prolonged  from  State  to  State.  The  whole 
Union  was  put  on  its  guard  against  this  effort  to  fonn 
a  hereditary  aristocracy  out  of  the  mihtary  chiefs  and 
powerful  families  of  the  several  States. 

Washington  endeavored  to  allay  this  jealousy.  In 
his  letters  to  the  presidents  of  the  State  societies,  notify- 
ing the  meeting  which  was  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia 
on  the  1st  of  May,  he  expressed  his  earnest  solicitude 
that  it  should  be  respectable  for  numbers  and  abihties, 
and  wise  and  deliberate  in  its  proceedings,  so  as  to  con- 
vince the  pubhc  that  the  objects  of  the  institution  were 
patriotic  and  praiseworthy. 

The  society  met  at  the  appointed  time  and  place. 
Washington  presided,  and  by  his  sagacious  counsels  ef- 
fected modifications  of  its  constitution.  The  hereditary 
principle,  and  the  power  of  electing  honorary  members, 

captured  Lord  Comwallis  and  all  his  army,  he  called  to  his  black  waiter, 
'  Come,  Joe !  carry  me  to  bed,  for  it  is  high  time  for  me  to  die ! ' " 

Then  np  rose  Joe,  all  at  the  word, 

And  took  his  master's  arm. 
And  thns  to  bed  he  softly  led 

The  lord  of  Greenway  fahn. 

There  oft  he  called  on  Britain's  name, 

And  oft  he  wept  flill  sore, 
Then  sighed— thy  will,  oh  Lord,  be  done— 

And  word  spake  never  more. 

See  Wxina*  lAft  <tf  WcuMngton. 


1784.]  TOUR   WEST   OF   THE    MOUNTAINS.  455 

were  abolished,  and  it  was  reduced  to.  the  harmless,  but 
highly  respectable  footing  on  which  it  still  exists. 

In  notifying  the  French  military  and  naval  officers 
included  in  the  Society  of  the  changes  which  had  taken 
j)lace  in  its  constitution,  he  expressed  his  ardent  hopes 
that  it  would  render  permanent  those  friendships  and 
connections  which  had  happily  taken  root  between  the 
officers  of  the  two  nations.  All  clamors  against  the 
order  now  ceased.  It  became  a  rallying  place  for  old 
comrades  in  arms,  and  Washington  continued  to  pre- 
side over  it  until  his  death. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Chevalier  de  Chastellux,  for  whom 
he  felt  an  especial  regard,  after  inviting  him  to  the  meet- 
ing, he  adds  •  "  I  will  only  repeat  to  you  the  assurances 
of  my  friendship,  and  of  the  pleasure  I  should  feel  in 
seeing  you  in  the  shade  of  those  trees  which  my  hands 
have  planted ,  and  which,  by  their  rapid  growth,  at 
once  indicate  a  knowledge  of  my  declining  years,  and 
their  disposition  to  spread  their  mantles  over  me,  before 
I  go  hence  to  return  no  more." 

On  the  17th  of  August  he  was  gladdened  by  hav- 
ing the  Marquis  de  Lafayette  under  his  roof,  who  had 
recently  arrived  from  France.  The  marquis  passed  a 
fortnight  with  him,  a  loved  and  cherished  guest,  at  the 
end  of  which  he  departed  for  a  time  to,  be  present  at 
the  ceremony  of  a  treaty  with  the  Indians. 

Washington  now  prepared  for  a  tour  to  the  west 
of  the  Apallachian  Mountains,  to  visit  his  lands  on  the 
Ohio  and  Kanawha  rivers.  Dr.  Craik,  the  companion 
of  his  various  campaigns,  and  who  had  accompanied 
him  in  1770  on  a  similar  tour,  was  to  be  his  fellow-trav- 
eller.   The  way  they  were  to  travel  may  be  gathered 


456  LIFE   OP  WASHINGTON.  [1784. 

from  Washington's  directions  to  the  doctor: — "You 
will  have  occasion  to  take  nothing  from  home  but  a 
servant  to  look  after  your  horses,  and  such  bedding  as 
you  may  think  proper  to  make  use  of.  I  will  carry  a 
marquee,  some  camp  utensils,  and  a  few  stores.  A 
boat,  or  some  other  kind  of  vessel,  will  be  provided  for 
the  voyage  down  the  river,  either  at  my  place  on  the 
Youghiogheny  or  Port  Pitt,  measures  for  this  purpose 
having  already  been  taken.  A  few  medicines,  and 
hooks  and  Imes,  you  may  probably  want." 

This  soldier-like  tour,  made  in  hardy  military  style, 
with  tent,  pack-horses,  and  frugal  supplies,  took  him 
once  more  among  the  scenes  of  his  youthful  expeditions 
when  a  land  surveyor  in  the  employ  of  Lord  Fairfax ;  a 
leader  of  Virginia  miUtia,  or  an  aide-de-camp  of  the  un- 
fortunate Braddock.  A  veteran  now  in  years,  and  a 
general  renowned  in  arms,  he  soberly  permitted  his 
steed  to  pick  his  way  across  the  mountains  by  the  old 
military  route,  still  called  Braddock's  Road,  over  which 
he  had  spurred  in  the  days  of  youthful  ardor.  His  ori- 
ginal intention  had  been  to  survey  and  inspect  his  lands 
on  the  Monongahela  River ;  then  to  descend  the  Ohio 
to  the  great  Kanawha,  where  also  he  had  large  tracts 
of  wild  land.  On  arriving  on  the  Monongahela,  how- 
ever, he  heard  such  accounts  of  discontent  and  irrita- 
tion among  the  Indian  tribes,  that  he  did  not  consider 
it  prudent  to  venture  among  them.  Some  of  his  land 
on  the  Monongahela  was  settled ;  the  rest  was  in  the 
wilderness,  and  of  little  value  in  the  present  unquiet 
state  of  the  country.  He  abridged  his  tour,  therefore ; 
proceeded  no  further  west  than  the  Monongahela ;  as- 
cended that  river,  and  then  struck  southward  through 


1784.]   OBSERVATIONS    ON    INTERNAL  NAVIGATION.    457 

the  wild,  unsettled  regions  of  the  Alleganies,  until  he 
came  out  into  the  Shenandoah  Valley  near  Staunton. 
He  returned  to  Moimt  Vernon  on  the  4th  of  October ; 
having  since  the  1st  of  September  travelled  on  horse- 
back six  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  for  a  great  part 
of  the  time  in  wild,  mountainous  country,  where  he  was 
obliged  to  encamp  at  night.  This,  like  his  tour  to  the 
northern  forts  with  Governor  Clinton,  gave  proof  of  his 
unfailing  vigor  and  activity. 

Dunng  all  this  tour  he  had  carefully  observed  the 
course  and  character  of  the  streams  flowing  from  the 
west  into  the  Ohio,  and  the  distance  of  their  navigable 
parts  from  the  head  navigation  of  the  rivers  east  of 
the  mountains,  with  the  nearest  and  best  portage 
between  them.  For  many  years  he  had  been  convinced 
of  the  practicability  of  an  easy  and  short  communica- 
tion between  the  Potomac  and  James  River,  and  the 
waters  of  the  Ohio,  and  thence  on  to  the  great  chain  of 
lakes ;  and  of  the  vast  advantages  that  would  result 
therefrom  to  the  States  of  Virginia  and  Maryland. 
He  had  even  attempted  to  set  a  company  on  foot  to 
undertake  at  their  own  expense  the  opening  of  such  a 
communication,  but  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution 
had  put  a  stop  to  the  enterprise.  One  object  of  his 
recent  tour  was  to  make  observations  and  collect  infor- 
mation on  this  subject ;  and  all  that  he  had  seen  and 
heard  quickened  his  solicitude  to  carry  the  scheme  into 
eflfect. 

Political  as  well  as  commercial  interests,  he  con- 
ceived, were  involved  in  the  enterprise.  He  had 
noticed  that  the  flanks  and  rear  of  the  United  States 
were  possessed  by  foreign  and  formidable  powers,  who 


458  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1784. 

might  lure  the  western  people  into  a  trade  and  alliance 
with  them.  The  Western  States,  he  observed,  stood 
as  it  were  upon  a  pivot,  so  that  the  touch  of  a  feather 
might  turn  them  any  way.  They  had  looked  down 
the  Mississippi,  and  been  tempted  in  that  direction  by 
the  facilities  of  sending  every  thing  down  the  stream  ; 
whereas  they  had  no  means  of  coming  to  us  but  by  long 
land  transportations  and  rugged  roads.  The  jealous 
and  untoward  disposition  of  the  Spaniards,  it  was  true, 
ahnost  barred  the  use  of  the  Mississippi;  but  they 
might  change  their  policy,  and  invite  trade  in  that 
direction.  The  retention  by  the  British  government, 
also,  of  the  posts  of  Detroit,  Niagara  and  Oswego, 
though  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  treaty,  shut  up  the 
channel  of  trade  m  that  quarter.  These  posts,  how- 
ever, would 'eventually  be  given  up  ;  and  then,  he  was 
persuaded,  the  people  of  New  York  would  lose  no  time 
in  removing  every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  a  water  com- 
munication ;  and  "  I  shall  be  mistaken,"  said  he,  "  if 
they  do  not  build  vessels  for  the  navigation  of  the 
lakes,  which  will  supersede  the  necessity  of  coasting  on 
cither  side." 

It  behooved  Virginia,  therefore,  to  lose  no  time  in  avail- 
ing herself  of  the  present  favorable  conjuncture  to  secure 
a  share  of  western  trade  by  connecting  the  Potomac  and 
James  rivers  with  the  waters  beyond  the  mountains. 
The  industry  of  the  western  settlers  had  hitherto  been 
checked  by  the  want  of  outlets  to  their  products,  owing 
to  the  before-mentioned  obstacles :  "  But  smooth  the 
road,"  said  he,  "  and  make  easy  the  way  for  them,  and 
then  see  what  an  influx  of  articles  will  pour  upon  us ; 
how  amazingly  our  exports  will  be  increased  by  them, 


1784.]  FAEEWELL  VISIT   OP   LAFAYETTE.  459 

and  liow  amply  all  shall  be  compensated  for  any  trou- 
ble and  expense  we  may  encounter  to  effect  it." 

Such  were  some  of  the  ideas  ably  and  amply  set 
forth  by  him  in  a  letter  to  Benjamin  Harrison,  Gover- 
nor of  Virginia,  who,  struck  with  his  plan  for  opening 
the  navigation  of  the  western  waters,  laid  the  letter 
before  the  State  legislature.  The  favor  with  which  it 
was  received  induced  Washington  to  repair  to  Rich- 
mond and  give  his  personal  support  to  the  measure. 
He  arrived  there  on  the  1 5th  of  November.  On  the 
following  morning  a  committee  of  five  members  of  the 
House  of  Assembly,  headed  by  Patrick  Henry,  waited 
on  him  in  behalf  of  that  body,  to  testify  their  rever- 
ence for  his  character  and  affection  for  his  person,  and 
their  sense  of  the  proofs  given  by  him  since  his  return 
to  private  life,  that  no  change  of  situation  could  turn 
his  thoughts  from  the  welfare  of  his  country.  The 
suggestions  of  Washington  in  his  letter  to  the  gover- 
nor, and  his  representations,  during  this  visit  to  Rich- 
mond, gave  the  first  impulse  to  the  great  system  of 
internal  improvement  since  pursued  throughout  the 
United  States. 

At  Richmond  he  was  joined  by  the  Marquis  de 
Lafayette ,  who  since  their  separation  had  accompanied 
the  commissioners  to  Fort  Schuyler,  and  been  present 
at  the  formation  of  a  treaty  with  the  Indians ,  after 
which  he  had  made  a  tour  of  the  Eastern  States, 
"crowned  every  where,"  vmtes  Washington,  "with 
wreaths  of  love  and  respect."  * 

They  returned  together  to  Mount  Vernon,  where 

*  Letter  of  Wa8hiDg:ton  to  the  Marchioness  de  Lafayette. 


460  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1784. 

Lafayette  again  passed  several  days,  a  cherished  inmate 
of  the  domestic  circle. 

When  his  visit  was  ended,  Washington,  to  defer 
the  parting  scene,  accompanied  him  to  Annapolis.  On 
returning  to  Mount  Vernon,  he  wrote  a  farewell  letter 
to  the  marquis,  bordering  more  upon  the  sentimental 
than  almost  any  other  in  his  multifarious  correspond- 
ence. 

"  In  the  moment  of  our  separation,  upon  the  road  as 
I  travelled  and  every  hour  since,  I  have  felt  all  that  love, 
respect  and  attachment  for  you,  with  which  length  of 
years,  close  connection,  and  your  merits  have  inspired 
me.  I  often  asked  myself,  as  our  carriages  separated, 
whether  that  was  the  last  sight  I  ever  should  have  of 
you  ?  And  though  I  wished  to  answer  no,  my  fears 
answered  yes.  I  called  to  mind  the  days  of  my  youth, 
and  found  they  had  long  since  fled  to  return  no  more  ; 
that  I  was  now  descending  the  hill  I  had  been  fifty-two 
years  cUmbing,  and  that,  though  I  was  blessed  with  a 
good  constitution,  I  was  of  a  short-lived  family,  and 
might  soon  expect  to  be  entombed  in  the  mansion  of 
my  fathers.  These  thoughts  darkened  the  shades,  and 
gave  a  gloom  to  the  picture,  and  consequently,  to  my 
prospect  of  ever  seeing  you  again." 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 


60HKME  OF  INLAND  NAVIGATION — SHARES  OF  STOCK  OFFERED  TO  WASH- 
INGTON— DECLINED — RXTEAL  IMPROVEMENTS — THE  TAX  OF  LETTER- 
WRITING THE     TAX     OF    SITTING     FOB     LIK:ENES3E3  —  ORNAMENTAL 

GARDENING MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   ESTATE — DOMESTIC   LIFE — VISIT 

OF    MR.   WATSON — REVERENTIAL    AWE    INSPIRED  BY  WASHINGTON — 
IRKSOME    TO     HIM — INSTANCES     OF     HIS     FESTIVE     GAYETT — OF     HIS 

LATTGHINO PASSION    FOR    HUNTING   REVIVED — DEATH     OP    GENERAL 

GREENE HIS   CHARACTER — WASHINGTON'S   REGRETS  AND  ENCOMIUMS 

LETTERS   TO   THE   FRENCH   NOBLEMEN. 


Washington's  zeal  for  the  public  good  had  now  found 
a  new  channel ;  or,  rather,  his  late  tours  into  the  inte- 
rior of  the  Union  had  quickened  ideas  long  existing  in 
his  mind  on  the  subject  of  internal  navigation.  In  a 
letter  to  Richard  Henry  Lee,  recently  chosen  President 
of  Congress,  he  urged  it  upon  his  attention  ;  suggest- 
ing that  the  western  waters  should  be  explored,  their 
navigable  capabilities  ascertained,  and  that  a  complete 
map  should  be  made  of  the  country,  that  in  all 
grants  of  land  by  the  United  States,  there  should 
be  a  reserve  made  for  special  sale  of  all  mines, 
mineral  and  salt  springs .  that  a  medium  price  should 
be  adopted  for  the  western  lands  sufficient  to  pre- 
vent monopoly,  but  not  to  discourage  useful  settlers. 


462  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1784. 

He  had  a  salutary  horror  of  "land  jobbers,"  and, 
"roaming  speculators,"  prowling  about  the  country 
like  wolves  ;  marking  and  surveying  valuable  spots  to 
the  great  disquiet  of  the  Indian  tribes.  "  The  spint 
of  emigration  is  great,"  said  he;  "people  have  get 
impatient,  and  though  you  cannot  stop  the  road,  it  is 
yet  in  your  power  to  mark  the  way ;  a  httle  while,  and 
you  will  not  be  able  to  do  either." 

In  the  latter  part  of  December  he  was  at  An- 
napolis, at  the  request  of  the  Assembly  of  Virginia, 
to  arrange  matters  with  the  Assembly  of  Maryland 
respectmg  the  communication  between  the  Potomac 
and  the  western  waters.  Through  his  indefatigable 
exertions  two  companies  were  formed  under  the  patron- 
age of  the  governments  of  these  States,  for  opening  the 
navigation  of  the  Potomac  and  James  rivers,  and  he 
was  appointed  president  of  both.  By  a  unanimous 
vote  of  the  Assembly  of  Virginia,  fifty  shares  in  the 
Potomac,  and  one  hundred  in  the  James  River  com- 
pany, were  appropriated  for  his  benefit,  to  the  end  that, 
while  the  great  works  he  had  promoted  would  remain 
monuments  of  his  glory,  they  might  also  be  monuments 
of  the  gratitude  of  his  country.  The  aggregate 
amount  of  these  shares  was  about  forty  thousand 
dollars. 

Washington  was  exceedingly  embarrassed  by  the 
appropriation.  To  decline  so  noble  and  unequivocal  a 
testimonial  of  the  good  opinion  and  good  will  of  his 
countiymen  might  be  construed  into  disrespect,  yet  he 
wished  to  be  perfectly  free  to  exercise  his  judgment 
and  express  his  opinions  in  the  matter,  without  being 
liable  to  the  least  suspicion  of  interested  motives.    It 


1784.]  RURAL   IMPROVEMENTS.  463 

had  been  his  fixed  determination,  also,  when  he  surren- 
dered his  mihtary  command,  never  to  hold  any  other 
office  under  government  to  which  emolument  might 
become  a  necessary  appendage.  From  this  resolution 
his  mind  had  never  swerved. 

While,  however,  he  declined  to  receive  the  proffered 
shares  for  his  own  benefit,  he  mtimated  a  disposition 
to  receive  them  in  trust,  to  be  applied  to  the  use  of 
some  object  or  institution  of  a  public  nature.  His 
wishes  were  complied  with,  and  the  shares  were  ulti- 
mately appropriated  by  him  to  institutions  devoted  to 
public  education.  Yet,  though  the  love  for  his  coun- 
try would  thus  interfere  with  his  love  for  his  home, 
the  dream  of  rural  retirement  at  Mount  Vernon  still 
went  on. 

"  The  more  I  am  acquainted  with  agricultural 
affairs,"  he  says,  m  a  letter  to  a  friend  in  England, 
"  the  better  I  am  pleased  with  them ;  insomuch  that  I 
can  nowhere  find  so  much  satisfaction  as  m  those  in- 
nocent and  useful  pursuits.  While  indulging  these 
feehngs,  I  am  led  to  reflect,  how  much  more  delightful 
to  an  undebauched  mind  is  the  task  of  making  im- 
provement?  on  the  earth,  than  all  the  vainglory  that 
can  be  acquired  from  ravaging  it  by  the  most  uninter- 
rupted career  of  conquest." 

"How  pitiful,  in  the  age  of  reason  and  religion,  is 
that  false  ambition  which  desolates  the  world  with  fire 
and  sword  for  the  purpose  of  conquest  and  fame,  com- 
pared to  the  milder  virtues  of  making  our  neighbors 
and  our  fellow-men  as  happy  as  their  frail  convictions 
and  perishable  natures  will  permit  them  to  be." 

He  had  a  congenial  correspondent  in  his  quondam 


464  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1785. 

brother-soldier,  Governor  Clinton  of  New  York,  whose 
spear,  like  his  own,  had  been  turned  into  a  pruning- 
hook. 

"  Whenever  the  season  is  proper  and  an  opportu- 
nity offers,"  writes  he  to  the  governor,  "  I  shall  be 
glad  to  receive  the  balsam  trees  or  others  which  you 
may  thmk  cunous  and  exotic  with  us,  as  I  am  endeav- 
oring to  improve  the  grounds  about  my  house  m  this 
way."  He  recommends  to  the  governor's  care  certain 
grape-vines  of  the  choicest  kinds  for  the  table,  which 
an  uncle  of  the  Chevalier  de  Luzerne  had  engaged  to 
send  from  France,  and  which  must  be  about  to  arrive 
at  New  York.  He  is  literally  going  to  sit  under  his 
own  vine  and  his  own  fig-tree,  and  devote  himself  to 
the  quiet  pleasures  of  rural  life. 

At  the  opening  of  the  year  (1785)  the  entries  in 
his  diary  show  him  diligently  employed  in  preparations 
to  improve  his  groves  and  shrubbery.  On  the  10th  of 
January  he  notes  that  the  white  thorn  is  full  in  berry. 
On  the  20th  he  begins  to  clear  the  pine  groves  of 
undergrowth. 

In  February  he  transplants  ivy  under  the  walls  of 
the  garden  to  which  it  still  chngs.  In  March  he  is 
planting  hemlock  trees,  that  most  beautiful  species  of 
American  evergreen,  numbers  of  which  had  been 
brought  hither  from  Occoquan.  In  April  he  is  sowing 
holly  berries  in  drills,  some  adjoining  a  green -briar 
hedge  on  the  north  side  of  the  garden  gate  ;  others  in 
a  semicircle  on  the  lawn.  Many  of  the  holly  bushes 
thus  produced,  are  still  flourishing  about  the  place  in 
fuU  vigor.  He  had  learnt  the  policy,  not  sufficiently 
adopted  in  our  country,  of  clothing  his  ornamented 


1785.]        THE   BURTHEN    OF    CORRESPONDENCE.  465 

grounds  as  much  as  possible  with  evergreens,  which 
resist  the  rigors  of  our  winter  and  keep  up  a  cheering 
verdure  throughout  the  year.  Of  the  trees  fitted  for 
shade  in  pasture  land  he  notes  the  locust,  maple,  black 
mulberry,  black  walnut,  black  gum,  dogwood  and  sas- 
safras, none  of  which,  he  observes,  materially  injure 
the  grass  beneath  them. 

Is  then  for  once  a  soldier's  dream  realized  ?  Is  he 
in  perfect  enjoyment  of  that  seclusion  from  the  world 
and  its  distractions,  which  he  had  so  often  pictured  to 
himseK  amid  the  hardships  and  turmoils  of  the  camp  ? 
Alas,  no  !  The  "  post,"  that  "  herald  of  a  noisy  world," 
invades  his  quiet  and  loads  his  table  with  letters,  until 
correspondence  becomes  an  intolerable  burthen. 

He  looks  in  despair  at  the  daily  accumulating  mass 
of  unanswered  letters.  "Many  mistakenly  tliink," 
writes  he,  "  that  I  am  retired  to  ease,  and  to  that  kind 
of  tranquillity  which  would  grow  tiresome  for  want  of 
employment ;  but  at  no  period  of  my  life,  not  in  the 
eight  years  I  served  the  public,  have  I  been  obliged  to 
write  so  much  myself,  as  I  have  done  since  my  retire- 
ment." *  Again — "  It  is  not  the  letters  from  my 
friends  which  give  me  trouble,  or  add  aught  to  my  per- 
plexity. It  is  references  to  old  matters,  with  which  I 
have  nothing  to  do;  apphcations  which  often  cannot 
be  complied  with ;  inquiries  which  would  require  the 
pen  of  a  historian  to  satisfy ;  letters  of  compliment  as 
unmeaning  perhaps  as  they  are  troublesome,  but 
which  must  be  attended  to;  and  the  commonplace 
business  which  employs  my  pen  and  my  time  often 

*  Letter  to  Richard  Hemy  Lee. 
VOL.  IV  — 30 


466  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1785. 

disagreeably.  These,  with  company,  deprive  me  of 
exercise,  and  unless  I  can  obtain  relief,  must  be  pro- 
ductive of  disagreeable  consequences." 

From  much  of  this  drudgery  of  the  pen  he  was 
subsequently  relieved  by  Mr.  Tobias  Lear,  a  young 
gentleman  of  New  Hampshire,  and  graduate  of  Har- 
vard College,  who  acted  as  his  private  secretary,  and  at 
the  same  time  took  charge  of  the  instruction  of  the 
two  children  of  the  late  Mr.  Parke  Custis,  whom 
Washington  had  adopted. 

There  was  another  tax  imposed  by  his  celebrity 
upon  his  time  and  patience.  Applications  were  con- 
tinually made  to  him  to  sit  for  his  likeness.  The  fol- 
lowing is  his  sportive  reply  to  Mr.  Francis  Hopkmson, 
who  applied  in  behalf  of  Mr  Pine. 

"  ^  In  for  a  penny  in  for  a  poimd,^  is  an  old  adage. 
I  am  so  hackneyed  to  the  touches  of  the  painters'  pen- 
cil, that  I  am  altogether  at  their  beck,  and  sit  *  hke 
Patience  on  a  monument,'  whilst  they  are  delineating 
the  lines  of  my  face.  It  is  a  proof  among  many  others, 
of  what  habit  and  custom  can  accomplish.  At  first  I 
was  impatient  at  the  request,  and  as  restive  under  the 
operation,  as  a  colt  is  under  the  saddle.  The  next 
time  I  submitted  very  reluctantly,  but  with  less  floun- 
cing. Now  no  dray-horse  moves  more  readily  to  his 
thill  than  I  to  the  painter's  chair.  It  may  easily  be 
conceived,  therefore,  that  I  yield  a  ready  obedience  to 
your  request,  and  to  the  views  of  Mr.  Pine." 

It  was  not  long  after  this  that  M.  Houdon,  an 
artist  of  great  merit,  chosen  by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Dr. 
Franklin,  arrived  from  Paris  to  make  a  study  of  Wash- 
ington for  a  statue,  for  the  Legislature  of  Virginia. 


1785.]  ORNAMENTAL    CULTIVATION.  4G7 

He  remained  a  fortnight  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  having 
formed  his  m.odel,  took  it  with  him  to  Paris,  where  he 
produced  that  excellent  statue  and  likeness  to  be  seen 
in  the  State  House  in  Richmond,  Virgmia. 

Being  now  in  some  measure  relieved  from  the 
labors  of  the  pen,  Washington  had  more  time  to  de- 
vote to  his  plan  for  ornamental  cultivation  of  the 
grounds  about  his  dwelling. 

We  find  in  his  diary  noted  down  with  curious 
exactness,  each  day's  labor  and  the  share  he  took  in  it ; 
his  frequent  rides  to  the  Mill  Swamp;  the  Dogue 
Creek,  the  "Plantation  on  the  Neck,"  and  other 
places  along  the  Potomac  in  quest  of  young  elms,  ash 
trees,  white  thorn,  crab-apples,  maples,  mulberries, 
willows  and  lilacs ,  the  winding  walks  which  he  lays 
out,  and  the  trees  and  shrubs  which  he  plants  along 
them.  Now  he  sows  acorns  and  buck-eye  nuts  brought 
by  himself  from  the  Monongahela  ,  now  he  opens  vistas 
through  the  Pme  Grove,  commanding  distant  views 
through  the  woodlands ,  and  now  he  twines  round  his 
columns  scarlet  honeysuckles,  which  his  gardener  tells 
him  will  blow  all  the  summer. 

His  care-worn  spirit  freshens  up  in  these  employ- 
ments. With  him  Mount  Vernon  is  a  kind  of  idyl. 
The  transient  glow  of  poetical  feeling  which  once  visited 
his  bosom,  when  in  boyhood  he  rhymed  beneath  its 
groves,  seems  about  to  return  once  more ,  and  we  please 
ourselves  with  noting  among  the  trees  set  out  by  him, 
a  group  of  young  horse-chestnuts  from  Westmoreland, 
his  native  county,  the  haunt  of  his  schoolboy  days; 
which  had  been  sent  to  him  by  Colonel  Lee  (Light 
Horse  Harry),  the  son  of  his  "  Lowland  Beauty." 


468  LIFE   OF    WASlilNGTON.  [1785. 

A  diagram  of  the  plan  in  which  he  had  laid  out 
his  grounds,  still  remains  among  the  papers  at  Mount 
Veraon ;  the  places  a^e  marked  on  it  for  particular  trees 
and  shrubs.  Some  of  those  trees  and  shrubs  are  still 
to  be  found  in  the  places  thus  assigned  to  them.  In 
the  present  neglected  state  of  Mount  Vernon  its  walks 
are  overgrown,  and  vegetation  runs  wild;  but  it  is 
deeply  interesting  still  to  find  traces  of  these  toils  in 
which  Washington  delighted,  and  to  know  that  many 
of  the  trees  which  give  it  its  present  umbrageous 
beauty  were  planted  by  his  hand. 

The  ornamental  cultivation  of  which  we  have 
spoken,  was  confined  to  the  grounds  appertaining  to 
what  was  called  the  mansion-house  farm ,  but  his 
estate  included  four  other  farms,  all  lying  contiguous, 
and  containing  three  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  ;  each  farm  having  its  bailiff  or  overseer,  with  a 
house  for  his  accommodation,  bams  and  outhouses  for 
the  produce,  and  cabins  for  the  negroes.  On  a  general 
map  of  the  estate,  drawn  out  by  Washington  himself, 
these  farms  were  all  laid  down  accurately  and  their  several 
fields  numbered ;  he  kncAV  the  soil  and  local  quaUties 
of  each,  and  regulated  the  culture  of  them  accordingly. 

In  addition  to  these  five  farms  there  were  several 
hundred  acres  of  fine  woodland,  so  that  the  estate  pre- 
sented a  beautiful  diversity  of  land  and  water.  In  the 
stables  near  the  mansiop-house  were  the  carriage  and 
saddle  horses,  of  which  he  was  very  choice ;  on  the 
four  farms  there  were  54  draught  horses,  12  mules,  317 
head  of  black  cattle,  360  sheep,  and  a  great  number 
of  swine,  which  last  ran  at  large  m  the  woods. 

He  now  read  much  on  husbandry  and  gardening, 


1785.]  LIFE    AT   MOUNT   VERNON.  469 

and  copied  out  treatises  on  those  subjects.  He  corre- 
sponded also  with  the  celebrated  Arthur  Young ;  from 
whom  he  obtained  seeds  of  all  kinds,  improved  ploughs, 
plans  for  laying  out  farm  yards  and  advice  on  various 
parts  of  nu*al  economy. 

"  Agriculture,"  wntes  he  to  him,  "  has  ever  been 
among  the  most  favored  of  my  amusements,  though  I 
have  never  possessed  much  skill  in  the  art,  and  nine 
years'  total  inattention  to  it  has  added  nothing  to  a 
knowledge,  which  is  best  understood  from  practice ; 
but  with  the  means  you  have  been  so  obliging  as  to 
furnish  me,  I  shall  return  to  it,  though  rather  late  in 
the  day,  with  more  alacrity  than  ever." 

In  the  management  of  his  estate  he  was  remark- 
ably exact.  No  neghgence  on  the  part  of  the  over- 
seers or  those  under  them  was  passed  over  unnoticed. 
He  seldom  used  many  words  on  the  subject  of  his 
plans ;  rarely  asked  advice ;  but,  when  once  deter- 
mined, carried  them  directly  and  silently  into  'execu- 
tion ;  and  was  not  easily  dissuaded  from  a  project 
when  once  commenced. 

We  have  shown,  in  a  former  chapter,  his  mode  of 
apportioning  time  at  Mount  Vernon,  prior  to  the  Revo- 
lution. The  same  system  was,  in  a  great  measure, 
resumed.  His  active  day  began  some  time  before  the 
dawn.  Much  of  his  correspondence  was  despatched 
before  breakfast,  which  took  place  at  half-past  seven. 
After  breakfast  he  mounted  his  horse  which  stood 
ready  at  the  door,  and  rode  off  to  different  parts  of  his 
estate,  as  he  used  to  do  to  various  parts  of  the  camp, 
to  see  that  all  was  right  at  the  outposts,  and  every  one 
at  his  duty.     At  half-past  two  he  dined. 


470  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1785. 

If  there  was  no  company  he  would  write  until 
dark,  or,  if  pressed  by  business  until  nine  o'clock  in 
the  evening ;  otherwise  he  read  in  the  evening,  or 
amused  himself  with  a  game  of  whist. 

His  secretary,  Mr.  Lear,  after  two  years*  residence  in 
the  family  on  the  most  confidential  footing,  says, — 
"  General  Washmgton  is,  I  believe,  almost  the  only 
man  of  an  exalted  character,  who  does  not  lose  some 
part  of  his  respectability  by  an  intimate  acquaintance. 
I  have  never  found  a  single  thing  that  could  lessen  my 
respect  for  him.  A  complete  knowledge  of  his  hon- 
esty, uprightness  and  candor  m  all  his  private  transac- 
tions, has  sometimes  led  me  to  think  him  more  than  a 
man." 

The  children  of  Parke  Custis  formed  a  lively  part 
of  his  household.  He  was  fond  of  children  and  apt  to 
unbend  with  them.  Miss  Custis,  recalling  m  after  Hfe 
the  scenes  of  her  childhood,  writes,  "  I  have  sometimes 
made  him  laugh  most  heartily  from  sympathy  with  my 
joyous  and  extravagant  spirits  ,  "  she  observes,  however, 
that  "  he  was  a  silent,  thoughtful  man.  He  spoke 
little  generally ;  never  of  himself.  I  never  heard  him 
relate  a  single  act  of  his  hfe  during  the  war.  I  have 
often  seen  him  perfectly  abstracted,  his  lips  moving ; 
but  no  sound  was  perceptible." 

An  observant  traveller,  Mr.  Elkanah  Watson,  who 
visited  Mount  Vernon  in  the  winter  of  1785,  bearer  of 
a  letter  of  introduction  from  General  Greene  and 
Colonel  Fitzgerald,  gives  a  home  picture  of  Washing- 
ton in  his  retirement.  Though  sure  that  his  creden- 
tials would  secure  him  a  respectful  reception,  he  says, 
"  I  trembled  with  awe,  as  I  came  into  the  presence  of 


1Y85.]  WASHINGTON    IN    SOCIAL    LIFE.  471 

this  great  man.  I  found  him  at  table  with  Mrs. 
Washmgton  and  his  private  family,  and  was  received  in 
the  native  dignity,  and  with  that  urbanity  so  peculiarly 
combined  in  the  character  of  a  soldier  and  an  eminent 
private  gentleman.  He  soon  put  me  at  my  ease,  by 
unbending,  in  a  free  and  affable  conversation. 

"  The  cautious  reserve  which  wisdom  and  policy 
dictated,  whilst  engaged  in  rearing  the  glorious  fabric 
of  our  independence,  was  evidently  the  result  of  con- 
summate prudence  and  not  characteristic  of  his  nature. 
I  observed  a  peculiarity  in  his  smile,  which  seemed  to 
illuminate  his  eye;  his  whole  countenance  beamed 
with  intelhgence,  while  it  commanded  confidence  and 
respect. 

"I  found  him  kind  and  benignant  in  the  domestic 
circle ,  revered  and  beloved  by  all  around  him  ;  agree- 
ably social,  without  ostentation ;  delighting  in  anecdote 
and  adventures ;  without  assumption  ;  his  domestic  ar- 
rangements harmonious  and  systematic.  His  servants 
seemed  to  watch  his  eye,  and  to  anticipate  his  every 
wish;  hence  a  look  was  equivalent  to  a  command. 
His  servant  Billy,  the  faithful  companion  of  his  military 
career,  was  always  at  his  side.  Smiling  content  ani- 
mated and  beamed  on  every  countenance  in  his  pres- 
ence." 

In  the  evening  Mr.  Watson  sat  conversing  for  a  full 
hour  with  Washington  after  all  the  family  had  retired, 
expecting,  perhaps,  to  hear  him  fight  over  some  of  his 
battles ;  but,  if  so,  he  was  disappointed,  for  he  observes  : 
"He  modestly  waived  all  allusions  to  the  events  in 
which  he  had  acted  so  glorious  and  conspicuous  a  part. 
Much  of  his  conversation  had  reference  to  the  interior 


472  LIFE   OP    WASHINGTON.  [1785. 

country,  and  to  the  opening  of  the  navigation  of  the 
Potomac  by  canals  and  locks,  at  the  Seneca,  the  Great 
and  Little  Falls.  His  mind  appeared  to  be  deeply  ab- 
sorbed by  that  object,  then  in  earnest  contemplation." 

Mr.  Watson  had  taken  a  severe  cold  in  the  course 
of  a  harsh  'winter  journey,  and  coughed  excessively. 
Washington  pressed  him  to  take  some  remedies,  but  he 
declmed.  After  returing  for  the  night  his  coughing  in- 
creased. "  When  some  time  had  elapsed,"  writes  he, 
"  the  door  of  my  room  was  gently  opened,  and,  on 
drawing  my  bed  curtains,  I  beheld  Washington  him- 
self, standmg  at  my  bedside  with  a  bowl  of  hot  tea  in 
his  hand.  I  was  mortified  and  distressed  beyond  ex- 
pression. This  little  incident,  occurring  in  common  life 
with  an  ordinary  man,  would  not  have  been  noticed ; 
but  as  a  trait  of  the  benevolence  and  private  virtue  of 
Washington,  deserves  to  be  recorded." 

The  late  Bishop  White,  m  subsequent  years,  speak- 
ing of  Washington's  unassuming  manners,  observes. 
"  I  knpw  no  man  who  so  carefully  guarded  against  the 
discoursing  of  himself  or  of  his  acts,  or  of  any  thing  that 
pertained  to  him ;  and  it  has  occasionally  occurred  to 
me  when  in  his  company,  that,  if  a  stranger  to  his  per- 
son were  present,  he  would  never  have  known  from  any 
thing  said  by  him  that  he  was  conscious  of  having  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  eye  of  the  world." 

An  anecdote  is  told  of  Washington's  conduct  while 
commander-in-chief;  illustrative  of  his  benignant  at- 
tention to  others,  and  his  freedom  from  all  assumption. 
While  the  army  was  encamped  at  Morristown,  he  one 
day  attended  a  religious  meeting  where  divine  service 
was  to  be  celebrated  in  the  open  air.     A  chair  had  been 


1785.]  WASHINGTON    IN    SOCIAL   LIFE.  473 

set  out  for  his  use.  Just  before  the  service  commenced 
a  woman  with  a  child  in  her  arms  approached.  All  the 
seats  were  occupied.  Washington  immediately  rose, 
placed  her  in  the  chair  which  had  been  assigned  to  him, 
and  remamed  standing  dining  the  whole  service.* 

The  reverential  awe  which  his  deeds  'and  elevated 
position  threw  around  him  was  often  a  source  of  annoy- 
ance to  him  in  private  hfe ,  especially  when  he  perceived 
its  effect  upon  the  young  and  gay.  We  have  been  told 
of  a  case  in  point,  when  he  made  his  appearance  at  a 
private  ball  where  all  were  enjoying  themselves  with 
the  utmost  glee.  The  moment  he  entered  the  room 
the  buoyant  mirth  was  checked ;  the  dance  lost  its  ani- 
mation ;  every  face  was  grave ,  every  tongue  was  silent. 
He  remained  for  a  time,  endeavoring  to  engage  in  con- 
versation with  some  of  the  young  people,  and  to  break 
the  spell ;  finding  it  in  vain,  he  retired  sadly  to  the  com- 
pany of  the  elders  in  an  adjoining  room,  expressing  his 
regret  that  his  presence  should  operate  as  such  a  damper. 
After  a  little  while  light  laughter  and  happy  voices 
again  resounded  from  the  ball-room ;  upon  Avhich  he 
rose  cautiously,  approached  on  tip-toe  the  door,  which 
was  ajar,  and  there  stood  for  some  time  a  delighted 
spectator  of  the  youthful  revelry. 

Washington  in  fact,  though  habitually  grave  and 
thoughtful,  was  of  a  social  disposition,  and  loved  cheer- 
ful society.  He  was  fond  of  the  dance ;  and  it  was  the 
boast  of  many  ancient  dames  in  our  day,  who  had  been 
belles  in  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  that  they  had  danced 
minuets  with  him,  or  had  him  for  a  partner  in  contra- 

♦  MS;  notes  of  the  Rev.  Jo3.  F.  Tuttle. 


474  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1785. 

dances.  There  were  balls  m  camp,  in  some  of  the 
dark  times  of  the  Revolution.  "  We  had  a  httle  dance 
at  my  quarters,"  writes  General  Greene  from  Middle- 
brook,  m  March,  1779.  "  His  Excellency  and  Mrs. 
Greene  danced  upwards  of  three  hours  without  once 
sitting  down.  Upon  the  whole  we  had  a  pretty  Httle 
frisk."  * 

A  letter  of  Colonel  Tench  Tilghman,  one  of  Wash- 
ington's aides-de-camp,  gives  an  instance  of  the  general's 
festive  gayety,  when  m  the  above  year  the  army  was 
cantoned  near  Morristown.  A  large  company,  of  which 
the  general  and  Mrs.  Washington,  general  and  Mrs. 
Greene,  and  Mr  and  Mrs.  Olney  were  part,  dmed  with 
colonel  and  Mrs.  Biddle.  Some  little  time  after  the 
ladies  had  retired  from  table,  Mr.  Olney  followed  them 
into  the  next  room.  A  clamor  was  raised  against  him 
as  a  deserter,  and  it  was  resolved  that  a  party  should 
be  sent  to  demand  him,  and  that  if  the  ladies  refused 
to  give  him  up,  he  should  be  brought  by  force.  Wash- 
ington humored  the  joke,  and  offered  to  head  the  party 
He  led  it  Avith  great  formality  to  the  door  of  the  draw- 
ing-room, and  sent  in  a  summons.  The  ladies  refused 
to  give  up  the  deserter.  An  attempt  was  made  to  cap- 
ture him.  The  ladies  came  to  the  rescue.  There  was 
a  melee  ,  in  the  course  of  which  his  Excellency  seems 
to  have  had  a  passage  at  arms  with  Mrs.  Olney.  The 
ladies  were  victorious,  as  they  always  ought  to  be,  says 
the  gallant  Tilghman. f 


♦  Greene  to  Col.  Wadsworth.  MS. 

f  This  sportive  occurrence  gave  rise  to  a  piece  of  camp  scandal.    It  was 
reported  at  a  distance  that  Mrs.  Olney  had  been  in  a  violent  rage,  and  had 


1785.]  WASHINGTON    IN    SOCIAL   LIFE.  475 

More  than  one  instance  is  told  of  Washington's 
being  surprised  into  hearty  fits  of  laughter,  even  during 
the  war.  We  have  recorded  one  produced  by  the 
sudden  appearance  of  old  General  Putnam  on  horse- 
back, with  a  female  prisoner  en  croupe.  The  following 
is  another  which  occurred  at  the  camp  at  Morns  town. 
Washington  had  purchased  a  young  horse  of  great 
spirit  and  power  A  braggadocio  of  the  army,  vam  of 
his  horsemanship,  asked  the  privilege  of  breaking  it. 
Washington  gave  his  consent,  and  with  some  of  his 
officers  attended  to  see  the  horse  receive  his  first  lesson. 
After  much  preparation,  the  pretender  to  equitation 
mounted  into  the  saddle  and  was  making  a  great  dis- 
play of  his  science,  when  the  horse  suddenly  planted 
his  forefeet,  threw  up  his  heels,  and  gave  the  unlucky 
Gambado  a  somerset  over  his  head.  Washington,  a 
thorough  horseman,  and  quick  to  perceive  the  ludicrous 
in  these  matters,  was  so  convulsed  with  laughter  that 
we  are  told  the  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks.* 

Still  another  instance  is  given,  which  occurred  at 
the  return  of  peace,  when  he  was  sailing  in  a  boat  on 
the  Hudson,  and  was  so  overcome  by  the  drollery  of  a 
story  told  by  Major  Fairhe  of  New  York,  of  facetious 
memory,  that  he  fell  back  in  the  boat  in  a  paroxysm 
of  laughter.     In  that  fit  of  laughter,  it  was  sagely  pre- 


told  Washington  that,  "  if  he  did  not  let  go  her  hand  she  would  tear  his  eyes  ont, 
and  that  though  he  was  a  general,  he  was  but  a  man." 

Mr.  Olney  wrote  to  Colonel  Tilghman,  begging  him  to  refute  the  scandal. 
The  latter  gave  a  true  statement  of  the  affair,  declaring  that  the  whole  was 
done  in  jest,  and  that  in  the  mock  contest  Mrs.  Olney  had  made  use  of  no  ex- 
pressions unbecoming  a  lady  of  her  good  breeding,  or  such  as  were  taken  the 
least  amiss  by  the  general. 

»  Notes  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tuttle.  MS. 


476  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1785. 

sumed  that  he  threw  off  the  burthen  of  care  which  had 
been  weighing  down  his  spirits  throughout  the  war.  He 
certainly  relaxed  much  of  his  thoughtful  gravity  of 
demeanor  when  he  had  no  longer  the  anxieties  of  a 
general  command  to  harass  him.  The  late  Judg 
Brooke,  who  had  served  as  an  officer  in  the  legion  of 
Light-horse  Harry,  used  to  tell  of  having  frequently 
met  Washington  on  his  visits  to  Fredericksburg  after 
the  revolutionary  war,  and  how  "  hilarious "  the  gen- 
eral was  on  those  occasions  with  "  Jack  WilHs,  and 
other  friends  of  his  young  days,"  laughing  heartily  at 
the  comic  songs  which  were  sung  at  table. 

Colonel  Henry  Lee,  too,  who  used  to  be  a  favored 
guest  at  Mount  Vernon,  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
much  under  the  influence  of  that  '*  reverential  awe  " 
which  Washington  is  said  to  have  inspired;  if  we 
may  judge  from  the  following  anecdote.  Washington 
one  day  at  table  mentioned  his  being  in  want  of  car- 

NOTE. 

Another  instance  is  on  record  of  one  of  Washington's  fits  of  laughter,  trhich 
oecurred  in  subsequent  years.  Judge  Marshall  and  Judge  Washington,  a  re- 
lative of  the  general,  were  on  their  way  on  horseback  to  visit  Mount  Vernon, 
attended  by  a  black  servant,  who  had  charge  of  a  large  portmanteau  contain- 
ing their  clothes.  As  they  passed  through  a  wood  on  the  skirts  of  the  Mount 
Vernon  grounds,  they  were  tempted  to  make  a  hasty  toilet  beneath  its  shade  ; 
being  covered  with  dust  from  the  state  of  the  roads.  Dismounting,  they 
threw  oflf  their  dusty  garments,  while  the  servant  took  down  the  portmanteau. 
As  he  opened  it,  out  fiew  cakes  of  Windsor  soap  and  fancy  articles  of  all  kinds. 
The  man  by  mistake  had  changed  their  portmanteau  at  the  last  stopping  place 
for  one  which  resembled  it,  belonging  to  a  Scotch  pedlar.  The  consternation 
of  the  negro,  and  their  own  dismantled  state,  struck  them  so  ludicrously  as  to 
produce  loud  and  repeated  bursts  of  laughter.  Washington,  who  happened  to 
be  out  upon  his  grounds,  was  attracted  by  the  noise,  and  so  overcome  by  the 
strange  plight  of  his  friends,  and  the  whimsicality  of  the  whole  scene,  that  he 
is  said  to  have  actually  rolled  on  the  grass  with  laughter.— See  life  of  Judg* 
J.  Smith. 


1785.]  SOCIAL  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  477 

riage  horses,  and  asked  Lee  if  he  knew  where  he  could 
get  a  pair 

"  I  have  a  fine  pair,  general,"  replied  Lee,  "  but 
you  cannot  get  them." 

"Why  not?" 

"  Because  you  will  never  pay  more  than  haK  price 
for  any  thing  ;  and  I  must  have  full  price  for  my  horses." 

The  bantering  reply  set  Mrs.  Washington  laughing, 
and  her  parrot,  perched  beside  her,  joined  in  the  laugh. 
The  general  took  this  familiar  assault  upon  his  dignity 
in  great  good  part.  "Ah,  Lee,  you  are  a  funny  fellow," 
said  he, — "  see,  that  bird  is  laughing  at  you."  * 

Hearty  laughter,  however,  was  rare  with  Washing- 
ton. The  sudden  explosions  we  hear  of  were  the  result 
of  some  sudden  and  ludicrous  surprise.  His  general 
habit  was  a  calm  seriousness,  easily  softening  into  a 
benevolent  smile. 

In  some  few  of  his  familiar  letters,  yet  preserved,  and 
not  relating  to  business,  there  is  occasionally  a  vein  of 
pleasantry  and  even  of  humor ,  but  almost  invariably, 
they  treat  of  matters  of  too  grave  import  to  admit  of  any 
thing  of  the  kind.  It  is  to  be  deeply  regretted  that 
most  of  his  family  letters  have  been  pui-posely  destroyed. 

The  passion  for  hunting  had  revived  with  W^ash- 
ington  on  returning  to  his  old  hunting-grounds ;  but 
he  had  no  hounds.  His  kennel  had  been  broken  up 
when  he  went  to  the  wars,  and  the  dogs  given  away, 
and  it  was  not  easy  to  replace  them.  After  a  time  he 
received  several  hounds  from  Prance,  sent  out  by  La- 
fayette and  other  of  the  French  officers,  and  once  more 

•  Communicated  to  us  in  a  letter  from  a  son  of  Colonel  Leo. 


478  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1Y85. 

sallied  forth  to  renew  his  ancient  sport.  The  French 
honnds,  however,  proved  indifferent ,  he  was  out  with 
them  repeatedly,  putting  other  hounds  with  them  bor- 
rowed from  gentlemen  of  the  neighborhood.  They 
improved  after  a  while,  but  were  never  stanch,  and 
caused  him  frequent  disappointments.  Probably  he  was 
not  as  stanch  himself  as  formerly ;  an  interval  of  sev- 
eral years  may  have  blunted  his  keenness,  if  we  may 
judge  from  the  following  entry  in  his  diary  . 

"  Out  after  breakfast  with  my  hounds,  found  a  fox 
and  ran  him  sometimes  hard,  and  sometimes  at  cold 
hunting  from  11  till  near  2 — when  I  came  home  and 
left  the  huntsmen  with  them,  who  followed  in  the  same 
manner  two  hours  or  more,  and  then  took  the  dogs  off 
without  killing." 

He  appears  at  one  time  to  have  had  an  idea  of 
stocking  part  of  his  estate  with  deer.  In  a  letter  io 
his  friend,  George  William  Fairfax,  in  England,  a  letter 
expressive  of  kind  recollections  of  former  companion- 
ship, he  says .  "  Though  envy  is  no  part  of  my  com- 
position, yet  the  picture  you  have  drawn  of  your 
present  habitation  and  mode  of  living,  is  enough  to 
create  a  strong  desire  in  me  to  be  a  participator  of  the 
tranquillity  and  rural  amusements  you  have  described. 
I  am  getting  into  the  latter  as  fast  as  I  can,  being  de- 
termined to  make  the  remainder  of  my  life  easy,  let 
the  world  or  the  affairs  of  it  go  as  they  may.  I  am 
not  a  little  obliged  to  you  for  contributing  to  this,  by 
procuring  me  a  buck  and  doe  of  the  best  English  deer; 
but  if  you  have  not  already  been  at  this  trouble,  I 
would,  my  good  sir,  now  wish  to  relieve  you  from  it,  as 
Mr.  Ogle  of  Maryland  has  been  so  obliging  as  to  present 


1785.]      DEATH  OF  GENERAL  GREENE.        479 

me  six  fawns  from  his  park  of  English  deer  at  Bellair. 
With  these,  and  tolerable  care,  I  shall  soon  have  a  full 
stock  for  my  small  paddock.* 

While  Washington  was  thus  calmly  enjoying  him- 
self, came  a  letter  from  Henry  Lee,  who  was  now  in 
Congress,  conveying  a  mournful  piece  of  intelligence  • 
*'  Your  friend  and  second,  the  patriot  and  noble  Greene, 
is  no  more.  Universal  grief  reigns  here."  Greene 
died  on  the  18th  of  June,  at  his  estate  of  Mulberry 
Grove,  on  Savannah  River,  presented  to  hiin  by  the 
State  of  Georgia.  His  last  illness  was  brief,  caused 
by  a  stroke  of  the  sun ;  he  was  but  forty -four  years 
of  age. 

The  nev  s  of  his  death  struck  heavily  on  Washing- 
ton's heart,  to  whom,  m  the  most  arduous  trials  of  the 
Revolution,  he  had  been  a  second  self.  He  had  taken 
Washington  as  his  model,  and  possessed  naturally  many 
of  his  great  qualities.  Like  him  he  was  sound  in  judg- 
ment ;  persevering  in  the  midst  of  discouragements  ; 
calm  and  self-possessed  in  time  of  danger ;  heedful  of 
the  safety  of  others  ,  heedless  of  his  own.  Like  him  he 
was  modest  and  unpretending,  and  like  him  he  had  a 
perfect  command  of  temper. 

He  had  AVashington's  habits  of  early  rising,  and 
close  and  methodical  despatch  of  business,  "never 
suffering  the  day  to  crowd  upon  the  morrow."  In 
private  intercourse  he  was  frank,  noble,  candid  and  in- 


*  George  William  Fairfax  resided  in  Bath,  where  he  died  on  the  3d  of 
April,  1787,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age.  Though  his  income  was 
greatly  reduced  by  the  confiscation  of  his  property  in  Virginia,  he  contributed 
generously  during  the  revolutionary  war  to  the  relief  of  American  prisoners, 
— Sparii  Washington's  Writings,  v.  Li.,  p.  63. 


480  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1785. 

telligent ;  in  the  hurry  of  business  he  was  free  from 
petulance,  and  had,  we  are  told,  "  a  winning  blandness 
of  manner  that  won  the  affections  of  his  officers." 

His  campaigns  in  the  CaroUnas  showed  him  to  be 
a  worthy  disciple  of  Washington,  keeping  the  war  alive 
by  his  own  persevering  hope  and  inexhaustible  energy, 
and,  as  it  were,  fighting  almost  without  weapons.  His 
great  contest  of  generalship  with  the  veteran  Com- 
waUis,  has  ensured  for  him  a  lasting  renown. 

"  He  was  a  great  and  good  man  !  '*  was  Washing- 
ton's comprehensive  eulogy  on  him ;  and  in  a  letter  to 
Lafayette  he  writes :  "  Greene's  death  is  an  event  which 
has  given  such  general  concern,  and  is  so  much  regretted 
by  his  numerous  friends,  that  I  can  scarce  persuade 
myself  to  touch  upon  it,  even  so  far  as  to  say  that  in 
him  you  lost  a  man  who  affectionately  regarded,  and 
was  a  sincere  admirer  of  you."  * 

Other  deaths  pressed  upon  Washington's  sensibiUty 
about  the  same  time.  That  of  General  McDougaU, 
who  had  served  his  country  faithfully  through  the  war, 
and  since  with  equal  fidelity  in  Congress.  That,  too, 
of  Colonel  Tench  Tilghman,  for  a  long  time  one  of 
Washington's  aides-de-camp,  and  "  who  left,"  writes 
he,  "  as  fair  a  reputation  as  ever  belonged  to  a  human 
character."  "  Thus,"  adds  he,  "  some  of  the  pillars  of 
the  Revolution  fall.  Others  are  mouldenng  by  insensi- 
ble degrees.  May  our  country  never  want  props  to 
support  the  glorious  fabric  1 " 

♦  We  are  happy  to  learn  that  a  complete  collection  of  the  correspondence 
of  General  Greene  is  ahout  to  he  pnhlished  hy  his  worthy  and  highly  culti- 
vated grandson,  George  Washington  Greene.  It  is  a  work  that,  like  Sparks^ 
Writings  of  Washington,  should  form  a  part  of  every  American  library. 


1786. J  REVERIES   OP   PEACE.  481 

In  his  con'espondence  about  this  time  with  several 
of  the  French  noblemen  who  had  been  his  associates 
in  arms,  his  letters  breathe  the  spirit  of  peace  which 
was  natural  to  him ;  for  war  vath  him  had  only  been 
a  matter  of  patriotism  and  public  duty.  To  the  Mar- 
quis de  la  Rouerie,  who  had  so  bravely  but  modestly 
fought  under  the  title  of  Colonel  Armand,  he  writes : 
"I  never  expect  to  draw  my  sword  again,  I  can 
scarcely  conceive  the  cause  that  would  induce  me  to 
do  it.  My  time  is  now  occupied  by  rural  amusements 
in  which  I  have  great  satisfaction  ;  and  my  first  wish 
is  (although  it  is  against  the  profession  of  arms,  and 
would  chp  the  wings  of  some  of  our  young  soldiers 
who  are  soaring  after  glory)  to  see  the  whole  Avorld  in 
peace,  and  the  inhabitants  of  it  as  one  band  of  brothers, 
striving  who  should  contribute  most  to  the  happiness 
of  mankind.*' 

So,  also,  in  a  letter  to  Count  Rochambeau,  dated 
July  31st,  1786  .  "  It  must  give  pleasure,"  writes  he, 
"  to  the  friends  of  humanity,  even  m  this  distant  sec- 
tion of  the  globe,  to  find  that  the  clouds  which  threat- 
ened to  burst  in  a  storm  of  war  on  Europe,  have  dis- 
sipated, and  left  a  still  brighter  horizon.  ***** 
As  the  rage  of  conquest,  which  in  times  of  barbarity 
stimulated  nations  to  blood,  has  in  a  great  measure 
ceased ;  as  the  objects  which  formerly  gave  birth  to 
wars  are  daily  diminishing ,  and  as  mankind  are  be- 
coming more  enhghtened  and  humanized,  I  cannot  but 
flatter  myself  with  the  pleasing  prospect,  that  a  more 
liberal  policy  and  more  pacific  systems  will  take  place 
amongst  them.  To  indulge  this  idea  afibrds  a  soothing 
consolation  to  a  philanthropic  mind;  insomuch  that, 

VOL.  IV. 31 


482  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1786. 

although  it  should  be  found  an  illusion,  one  would 
hardly  wish  to  be  divested  of  an  error  so  grateful  in 
itself  and  so  innocent  in  its  consequences." 

And  in  another  letter, — "  It  is  thus,  you  see,  my 
dear  Count,  in  retirement  upon  my  farm  I  speculate 
upon  the  fate  of  nations,  amusing  myself  with  innocent 
reveries  that  mankind  will  one  day  grow  happier  and 
better." 

How  easily  may  the  wisest  of  men  be  deceived  in 
their  speculations  as  to  the  future,  especially  when 
founded  on  the  idea  of  the  perfectibility  of  human 
nature.  These  halcyon  dreams  of  universal  peace  were 
indulged  on  the  very  eve,  as  it  were,  of  the  French 
Revolution,  which  was  to  deluge  the  world  in  blood, 
and  when  the  rage  for  conquest  was  to  have  unbounded 
scope  under  the  belligerent  sway  of  Napoleon. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

WASHINGTON  DOUBTS  THB  SOLIDITY  OP  THE  OONTKDEBATION — OOKBKS- 
PONDENCE  "WITH  JOHN  JAT  ON  THE  SITBJEOT — PLAN  OF  A  CONTEN- 
TION OF  ALL  THE  STATES  TO  BEVISE  THE  FEDERAL  SYSTEM  — 
"WASHINGTON  HEADS  THE  VIRGINIA  DELEGATION — INSURRECTION  IN 
MASSACHUSETTS — THE  CONTENTION — A  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION  OB- 
OANIZED — BATIFIED. 

From  his  quiet  retreat  of  Mount  Vernon  Washington, 
though  ostensibly  withdrawn  from  pubHc  affairs,  was 
watching  with  mtense  solicitude  the  working  together 
of  the  several  parts  in  the  great  political  confederacy  ; 
anxious  to  know  whether  the  thirteen  distinct  States, 
under  the  present  organization,  could  form  a  sufficiently 
efficient  general  government.  He  was  daily  becoming 
more  and  more  doubtful  of  the  solidity  of  the  fabric 
he  had  assisted  to  raise.  The  form  of  confederation 
which  had  bound  the  States  together  and  met  the  pub- 
Hc exigencies  during  the  Revolution,  when  there  was  a 
pressure  of  external  danger,  was  daily  proving  more 
and  more  incompetent  to  the  purposes  of  a  national 
government.  Congress  had  devised  a  system  of  credit 
to  provide  for  the  national  expenditure  and  the  extinc- 
tion of  the  national  debts,  which  amounted  to  some- 
thing more  than  forty  millions  of  dollars.     The  system 


484  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1785. 

experienced  neglect  from  some  States  and  opposition 
from  others ,  each  consulting  its  local  interests  and 
prejudices,  instead  of  the  interests  and  obligations  of 
the  whole.  In  like  manner  treaty  stipulations,  which 
bound  the  good  faith  of  the  whole,  were  sHghted,  if  not 
violated  by  individual  States,  apparently  miconscious 
that  they  must  each  share  in  the  discredit  thus  brought 
upon  the  national  name. 

In  a  letter  to  James  Wan'en,  who  had  formerly  been 
President  of  the  Massachusetts  provincial  Congress, 
Washington  writes  :  "  The  confederation  appears  to  me 
to  be  little  more  than  a  shadow  without  the  substance, 
and  Congress  a  nugatory  body ;  their  ordinances  being 
little  attended  to.  To  me  it  is  a  solecism  in  politics, 
indeed  it  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  things  in 
nature,  that  we  should  confederate  as  a  nation,  and  yet 
be  afraid  to  give  the  rulers  of  that  nation  (who  are 
creatures  of  our  own  making,  appointed  for  a  limited 
and  short  duration,  and  who  are  amenable  for  every 
action  and  may  be  recalled  at  any  moment,  and  are 
subject  to  all  the  evils  which  they  may  be  instrumental 
m  producing)  sufficient  powers  to  order  and  direct  the 
affairs  of  the  same.  By  such  policy  as  this  the  wheels 
of  government  are  clogged,  and  our  brightest  pros- 
pects, and  that  high  expectation  which  was  entertained 
of  us  by  the  wondering  world,  are  turned  into  aston- 
ishment; and  from  the  high  ground  on  which  we 
stood,  we  are  descending  into  the  vale  of  confusion 
and  darkness."  * 

Not  long  previous  to  the  writing  of  this  letter,  Wash- 

•  Sparks,  ix.  139. 


1786.]  IDEAS   ON    NATIONAL   POLICY.  485 

ington  had  been  visited  at  Mount  Vernon  by  commis- 
sioners, who  had  been  appomted  by  the  legislatures  of 
Virginia  and  Maryland  to  form  a  compact  relative  to 
the  navigation  of  the  rivers  Potomac  and  Pocomoke, 
and  of  part  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  who  had  met 
at  Alexandria  for  the  purpose.  During  their  visit  at 
Mount  Vernon  the  policy  of  maintaining  a  naval  force 
on  the  Chesapeake,  and  of  establishing  a  tariff  of 
duties  on  imports  to  which  the  laws  of  both  States 
should  conform,  was  discussed,  and  it  was  agreed,  that 
the  commissioners  should  propose  to  the  governments 
of  their  respective  States  the  appointment  of  other 
commissioners,  with  powers  to  make  conjoint  arrange- 
ments for  the  above  purposes ;  to  which  the  assent  of 
Congress  was  to  be  solicited. 

The  idea  of  conjoint  arrangements  between  States, 
thus  suggested  in  the  quiet  councils  of  Mount  Vernon, 
was  a  step  in  the  right  direction,  and  will  be  found  to 
lead  to  important  results. 

Prom  a  letter,  written  two  or  three  months  subse- 
quently, we  gather  some  of  the  ideas  on  national  policy 
which  were  occupying  Washington's  mind.  "  I  have 
ever  been  a  friend  to  adequate  powers  in  Congress, 
without  which  it  is  evident  to  me  we  never  shall  estab- 
lish a  national  character,  or  be  considered  as  on  a  re- 
spectable footing  by  the  powers  of  Europe. — ^We  are 
either  a  united  people  under  one  head  and  for  federal 
purposes,  or  we  are  thirteen  independent  sovereignties, 
eternally  counteracting  each  other. — If  the  former, 
whatever  such  a  majority  of  the  States  as  the  constitu- 
tion points  out,  conceives  to  be  for  the  benefit  of  the 
whole,  should,  in  my  humble  opinion,  be  submitted  to 


486  LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON.  [1786. 

by  the  minority. — I  can  foresee  no  evil  greater  than 
disunion ;  than  those  unreasonable  jealousies  (I  say 
unreasonable  because  I  would  have  a  jorojo^r  jealousy 
always  awake,  and  the  United  States  on  the  watch  to 
prevent  individual  States  from  infracting  the  constitu- 
tion with  impunity)  which  are  continually  poisoning 
our  minds  and  filling  them  with  imaginary  evils  for  the 
prevention  of  real  ones."  * 

An  earnest  correspondence  took  place  some  months 
subsequently  between  Washington  and  the  illustrious 
patriot,  John  Jay,  at  that  time  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  wherein  the  signs  of  the  times  were  feelingly 
discussed. 

"  Our  affairs,"  ™tes  Jay,  "  seem  to  lead  to  some 
crisis,  something  that  I  cannot  foresee  or  conjecture. 
I  am  uneasy  and  apprehensive,  more  so  than  during 
the  war.  Then  we  had  a  fixed  object,  and  though  the 
means  and  time  of  obtaining  it  were  problematical,  yet 
I  did  firmly  believe  that  we  should  ultimately  succeed, 
because  I  did  firmly  believe  that  justice  was  with  us. 
The  case  is  now  altered.  We  are  going  and  doing 
wrong,  and  therefore  I  look  forward  to  evils  and  calami- 
ties, but  without  being  able  to  guess  at  the  instrument, 
nature,  or  measure  of  them.  *»****» 
What  I  most  fear  is,  that  the  better  kind  of  people,  by 
which  I  mean  the  people  who  are  orderly  and  industri- 
ous, who  are  content  with  their  situations,  and  not 
uneasy  in  their  circumstances,  will  be  led  by  the  inse- 
curity of  property,  the  loss  of  pubhc  faith  and  rectitude, 
to  consider  the  charms  of  liberty  as  imaginary  and  deiu- 

*  See  Letter  to  James  McHenry.    Sparks,  ix.  121. 


1786.]  IDEAS    ON    NATIONAL   POLICY.  487 

sive.  A  state  of  uncertainty  and  fluctuation  must  dis- 
gust and  alarm."  Washington,  in  reply,  coincided  in 
opinion  that  public  affairs  were  drawing  rapidly  to  a 
crisis,  and  he  acknowledged  the  event  to  be  equally 
beyond  his  foresight.  "  We  have  errors,"  said  he,  "  to 
correct.  We  have  probably  had  too  good  an  opinion 
of  human  nature  in  forming  our  confederation.  Expe- 
rience has  taught  us  that  men  will  not  adopt  and  carry 
into  execution  measures  the  best  calculated  for  their 
own  good,  without  the  intervention  of  coercive  power. 
I  do  not  conceive  we  can  exist  long  as  a  nation,  with- 
out lodging,  somewhere,  a  power  which  will  pervade 
the  whole  Union  in  as  energetic  a  manner,  as  the 
authority  of  the  State  governments  extends  over  the 
several  States.  To  be  fearful  of  investing  Congress, 
constituted  as  that  body  is,  with  ample  authorities  for 
national  purposes,  appears  to  me  the  very  climax 
of  popular  absurdity  and  madness.  Could  Congress 
exert  them  for  the  detriment  of  the  people,  without 
injuring  themselves  m  an  equal  or  greater  proportion  ? 
Are  not  their  interests  inseparably  connected  with 
those  of  their  constituents  ?  By  the  rotation  of  appoint- 
ments must  they  not  mingle  frequently  with  the  mass 
of  the  citizens  ?  Is  it  not  rather  to  be  apprehended,  if 
they  were  not  possessed  of  the  powers  before  described, 
that  the  individual  members  would  be  induced  to  use 
them,  on  many  occasions,  very  timidly  and  ineffica- 
ciously,  for  fear  of  losing  their  popularity  and  future 
election  ?  We  must  take  human  nature  as  we  find  it ; 
perfection  falls  not  to  the  share  of  mortals. 

"  What  then  is  to  be  done  ?  things  cannot  go  on  in 
the  same  strain  for  ever.     It  is  much  to  be  feared,  as 


488  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1786. 

you  observe,  that  the  better  kind  of  people,  being  dis- 
gusted with  these  circumstances,  will  have  their  minds 
prepared  for  any  revolution  whatever  We  are  apt  to 
run  from  one  extreme  to  another  *  *  *  *  j 
am  told  that  even  respectable  characters  speak  of  a 
monarchical  form  of  government  without  horror.  From 
thinking  proceeds  speakmg,  thence  acting  is  often  but 
a  single  step.  But  how  irrevocable  and  tremendous ! 
What  a  triumph  for  our  enemies  to  verify  their  predic- 
tions !  What  a  triumph  for  the  advocates  of  despot- 
ism to  find  that  we  are  incapable  of  governing  ourselves, 
and  that  systems,  founded  on  the  basis  of  equal  liberty, 
are  merely  ideal  and  fallacious  !  Would  to  God  that 
wise  measures  may  be  taken  in  time  to  avei-t  the  con- 
sequences we  have  but  too  much  reason  to  apprehend. 

"Retired  as  I  am  from  the  world,  I  frankly  ac- 
knowledge I  cannot  feel  myself  an  unconcerned  specta- 
tor. Yet,  having  happily  assisted  in  bringing  the  ship 
into  port,  and  having  been  fairly  discharged,  it  is  not 
my  business  to  embark  again  on  the  sea  of  troubles. 

"  Nor  could  it  be  expected  that  my  sentiments 
and  opinions  would  have  much  weight  in  the  mmds  of 
my  countrymen.  They  have  been  neglected,  though 
given  as  a  last  legacy,  in  a  most  solemn  manner.  I 
then  perhaps  had  some  claims  to  public  attention.  I 
consider  myself  as  having  none  at  present." 

His  anxiety  on  this  subject  was  quickened  by 
accounts  of  discontents  and  commotions  in  the  Eastern 
S+ates  produced  by  the  pressure  of  the  times,  the  pub- 
lic and  private  indebtedness,  and  the  imposition  of 
heavy  taxes,  at  a  moment  of  financial  embarrassment. 

General  Knox,  now  Secretary  at  War,  who  had 


1786.]  INSURRECTION    IN    MASSACHUSETTS.  489 

been  sent  by  Congress  to  Massachusetts  to  inquire 
into  these  troubles,  thus  writes  about  the  insurgents : 
'*  Their  creed  is  that  the  property  of  the  United  States 
has  been  protected  from  the  confiscation  of  Britain  by 
the  joint  exertions  of  all,  and  therefore  ought  to  be  the 
common  property  of  ally  and  he  that  attempts  opposi- 
tion to  this  creed,  is  an  enemy  to  equity  and  justice, 
and  ought  to  be  swept  from  off  the  face  of  the  earth." 
Again :  "  They  are  determined  to  annihilate  all  debts, 
public  and  private,  and  have  agrarian  laws,  which  are 
easily  effected  by  the  means  of  unfunded  paper,  which 
shall  be  a  tender  in  all  cases  whatever." 

In  reply  to  Col.  Henry  Lee  in  Congress,  who  had 
addressed  several  letters  to  him.  on  the  subject,  Wash- 
ington writes  •  "  You  talk,  my  good  sir,  of  employing 
influence  to  appease  the  present  tumults  in  Massachu- 
setts. I  know  not  where  that  influence  is  to  be  found, 
or,  if  attainable,  that  it  would  be  a  proper  remedy  for 
the  disorders.  Influence  is  not  government  Let  us 
have  a  government  by  which  our  lives,  liberties  and 
properties  will  be  secured,  or  let  us  know  the  worst  at 
once.  There  is  a  call  for  decision.  Know  precisely 
what  the  insurgents  aim  at.  If  they  have  real  griev- 
ances, redress  them,  if  possible ;  or  acknowledge  the 
justice  of  them,  and  your  inability  to  do  it  at  the 
moment.  If  they  have  not,  employ  the  force  of  gov- 
ernment against  them  at  once.  If  this  is  inadequate, 
all  will  be  convinced  that  the  superstructure  is  bad  and 
wants  support.  To  delay  one  or  other  of  these  expe- 
dients is  to  exasperate  on  the  one  hand  or  to  give  con- 
fidence on  the  other.  *  *  *  *  Let  the  reins  of 
government  then  be  braced  and  held  with  a  steady 


490  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1786. 

hand,  and  every  violation  of  the  constitution  be  repre- 
hended. If  defective,  let  it  be  amended;  but  not 
suffered  to  be  trampled  upon  whilst  it  has  an  exist- 
ence." 

A  letter  to  him  from  his  former  aide-de-camp,  Colo- 
nel Humphreys,  dated  New  Haven,  November  1st,  says : 
"  The  troubles  in  Massachusetts  still  continue.  Gov- 
ernment is  prostrated  m  the  dust,  and  it  is  much  to  be 
feared  that  there  is  not  energy  enough  in  that  State  to 
re-establish  the  civil  powers.  The  leaders  of  the  mob, 
whose  fortunes  and  measures  are  desperate,  are  strength- 
ening themselves  daily ;  and  it  is  expected  that  they 
will  soon  take  possession  of  the  Continental  magazine 
at  Springfield,  in  which  there  are  from  ten  to  fifteen 
thousand  stand  of  arms  in  excellent  order. 

"  A  general  want  of  compliance  with  the  requisi- 
tions of  Congress  for  money  seems  to  prognosticate  that 
we  are  rapidly  advancing  to  a  crisis.  Congress,  I  am 
told,  are  seriously  alarmed,  and  hardly  know  which  way 
to  turn  or  what  to  expect.  Indeed,  my  dear  General, 
nothing  but  a  good  Providence  can  extricate  us  from 
the  present  convulsion. 

"  In  case  of  civil  discord,  I  have  already  told  you  it 
was  seriously  my  opinion  that  you  could  not  remain 
neuter,  and  that  you  would  be  obliged,  in  self-defence, 
to  take  one  part  or  the  other,  or  withdraw  from  the 
continent.     Your  friends  are  of  the  same  opinion." 

Close  upon  the  receipt  of  this  letter,  came  intelli- 
gence that  the  insurgents  of  Massachusetts,  far  from 
being  satisfied  with  the  redress  which  had  been  offered 
by  their  general  court,  were  still  acting  in  open  violation 
of  law  and  government ;  and  that  the  chief  magistrate 


1786.]  INSURRECTION    IN    MASSACHUSETTS.  491 

had  been  obliged  to  call  upon  the  militia  of  the  State  to 
support  the  constitution. 

"  What,  gracious  God !  is  man,"  writes  Washing- 
ton, "  that  there  should  be  such  inconsistency  and  per- 
fidiousness  m  his  conduct.  It  was  but  the  other  day, 
that  we  were  shedding  our  blood  to  obtain  the  consti- 
tutions under  which  we  now  live ;  constitutions  of  our 
own  choice  and  making  ;  and  now  we  are  unsheathing 
the  sword  to  overturn  them.  The  thing  is  so  unaccount- 
able, that  I  hardly  know  how  to  realize  it,  or  to  per- 
suade myself  that  I  am  not  under  the  illusion  of  a 
dream." 

His  letters  to  Knox  show  the  trouble  of  his  mind. 
"  I  feel,  my  dear  General  Knox,  infinitely  more  than  I 
can  express  to  you,  for  the  disorders  which  have  arisen 
in  these  States.  Good  God !  who,  besides  a  tory, 
could  have  foreseen,  or  a  Briton  predicted  them  ?  I 
do  assure  you  that,  even  at  this  moment,  when  I  reflect 
upon  the  present  prospect  of  our  affairs,  it  seems  to  me 
to  be  like  the  vision  of  a  dream.  «  *  *  *  After 
what  I  have  seen,  or  rather  what  I  have  heard,  I  shall 
be  surprised  at  nothing ;  for,  if  three  years  since,  any 
person  had  told  me  that  there  would  have  been  such  a 
formidable  rebellion  as  exists  at  this  day  against  the 
laws  and  constitution  of  our  own  making,  I  should  have 
thought  him  a  bedlamite,  a  fit  subject  for  a  mad-house. 
*  *  *  In  regretting,  which  I  have  often  done  with 
the  keenest  sorrow,  the  death  of  our  much  lamented 
friend.  General  Greene,  I  have  accompanied  it  of  late 
^ith  a  query,  whether  he  would  not  have  preferred 
such  an  exit  to  the  scenes  which,  it  is  more  than  proba- 
ble, many  of  his  compatriots  may  live  to  bemoan." 


492  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1786. 

To  James  Madison,  also,  he  writes  in  the  same 
strain.  "  How  melancholy  is  the  reflection  that  m  so 
short  a  time  we  should  have  made  such  large  strides 
towards  fulfilling  the  predictions  of  our  transatlantic 
foes !  *  Leave  them  to  themselves,  and  their  govern- 
ment will  soon  dissolve.'  Will  not  the  wise  and  good 
strive  hard  to  avert  this  evil  ?  Or  will  their  supine- 
ness  suff'er  ignorance  and  the  arts  of  self-interested  and 
designing,  disaffected  and  desperate  characters,  to  in- 
volve this  great  country  in  wretchedness  and  contempt  ? 
What  stronger  evidence  can  be  given  of  the  want  of 
energy  in  our  government  than  these  disorders  ?  If 
there  is  not  power  in  it  to  check  them,  what  security 
has  a  man  for  life,  liberty,  or  property  ?  To  you,  I  am 
sure  I  need  not  add  aught  on  the  subject.  The  conse- 
quences of  a  lax  or  inefficient  government  are  too  ob- 
vious to  be  dwelt  upon.  Thirteen  sovereignties  pulling 
against  each  other,  and  all  tugging  at  the  federal  head, 
will  soon  bring  ruin  on  the  whole ;  whereas,  a  liberal 
and  energetic  constitution,  well  checked  and  well 
watched,  to  prevent  encroachments,  might  restore  us  to 
that  degree  of  respectabihty  and  consequence  to  which 
we  had  the  fairest  prospect  of  attaining." 

Thus  AVashington,  even  though  in  retirement,  was 
almost  unconsciously  exercising  a  powerful  influence  on 
national  affairs ;  no  longer  the  soldier,  he  was  now  be- 
coming the  statesman .  The  opinions  and  counsels  given 
in  his  letters  were  widely  effective.  The  leading  expe- 
dient for  federate  organization,  mooted  in  his  confer- 
ences with  the  commissioners  of  Maryland  and  Virginia 
during  their  visit  to  Mount  Vernon  in  the  previous  year, 
had  been  extended  and  ripened  in  legislative  Asseni- 


1786.]  PLAN    OF   A    CONVENTION.  493 

blies,  and  ended  in  a  plan  of  a  convention  composed  of 
delegates  from  all  the  States,  to  meet  m  Philadelphia 
for  the  sole  and  express  pmpose  of  revising  the  federal 
system,  and  coiTecting  its  defects ;  the  proceedings  of 
the  convention  to  be  subsequently  reported  to  Con- 
gress, and  the  several  Legislatures,  for  approval  and  con- 
firmation. 

Washington  was  unanimously  put  at  the  head  of 
the  Virginia  delegation ;  but  for  some  time  objected  to 
accept  the  nommation.  He  feared  to  be  charged  with 
inconsistency  in  again  appearing  in  a  public  situation, 
after  his  declared  resolution  to  the  contrary.  "  It  vnR 
have  also,"  said  he,  "  a  tendency  to  sweep  me  back 
into  the  tide  of  pubhc  affairs,  when  retirement  and 
ease  are  so  much  desired  by  me,  and  so  essentially  ne- 
cessary."* Beside,  he  had  just  avowed  his  intention 
of  resigning  the  presidency  of  the  Cincinnati  Society, 
which  was  to  hold  its  triennial  meeting  in  May,  in 
Philadelphia,  and  he  could  not  appear  at  the  same  time 
and  place  on  any  other  occasion,  without  giving  offence 
to  his  worthy  companions  in  arms,  the  late  officers  of 
the  American  army. 

These  considerations  were  strenuously  combated, 
for  the  weight  and  influence  of  his  name  and  counsel 
were  felt  to  be  all-important  in  giving  dignity  to  the 
delegation.  Two  things  contributed  to  bring  him  to 
a  favorable  decision :  First,  an  insinuation  that  the 
opponents  of  the  convention  were  monarchists,  who 
wished  the  distractions  of  the  country  should  continue, 
until  a  monarchical  government  might  be  resorted  to  as 

*  Letter  to  Edmxind  Randolph,  governor  of  Virginia. 


494  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1786. 

an  ark  of  safety.    The  other  was  the  insurrection  in 
Massachusetts. 

Having  made  up  his  mind  to  serve  as  a  delegate  to 
the  convention,  he  went  into  a  course  of  preparatory 
reading  on  the  history  and  principles  of  ancient  and 
modern  confederacies.  An  abstract  of  the  general 
principles  of  each,  with  notes  of  their  vices  or  defects, 
exists  in  his  own  handwriting,  among  his  papers ; 
though  it  is  doubted  by  a  judicious  commentator* 
whether  it  was  originally  drawn  up  by  him,  as  several 
works  are  cited,  which  are  written  in  languages  that  he 
did  not  understand. 

Before  the  time  arrived  for  the  meeting  of  the  con- 
vention, which  was  the  second  Monday  in  May,  his  mind 
was  relieved  from  one  source  of  poignant  solicitude, 
by  learning  that  the  insurrection  in  Massachusetts  had 
been  suppressed  with  but  little  bloodshed,  and  that  the 
principals  had  fled  to  Canada.  He  doubted,  however, 
the  policy  of  the  Legislature  of  that  State  in  disfran- 
chising a  large  number  of  its  citizens  for  their  rebellious 
conduct ;  thinking  more  lenient  measures  might  have 
produced  as  good  an  effect,  without  entirely  alienating 
the  affections  of  the  people  from  the  government ; 
beside  depriving  some  of  them  of  the  means  of  gaining 
a  livelihood. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  Washington  set  out  in  his  car- 
riage from  Mount  Vernon  to  attend  the  convention. 
At  Chester,  where  he  arrived  on  the  13th,  he  was  met 
by  General  Mifflin,  now  speaker  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Assembly,  Generals  Knox  and  Vamum,  Colonel  Hum- 

*  Mr.  Sparks.    For  this  interesting  docnment  see  Writings  of  Washington, 
vol.  ix.  Appendix,  No.  ir. 


1787.]  THE   CONVENTION.  495 

phreys  and  other  personages  of  note.  At  Gray's  Ferry 
the  city  light-horse  were  in  attendance,  by  whom  he 
was  escorted  into  Philadelphia. 

It  was  not  until  the  25th  of  May  that  a  sufficient 
number  of  delegates  were  assembled  to  form  a  quorum ; 
when  they  proceeded  to  organize  the  body,  and  by  a 
unanimous  vote  Washington  was  called  up  to  the  chair 
as  President. 

The  following  anecdote  is  recorded  by  Mr.  Leigh 
Pierce,  who  was  a  delegate  from  Georgia.     When  the 
convention  first  opened,  there  were  a  number  of  prop- 
ositions brought  forward  as  great  leading  prmciples 
of  the  new  government  to  be  established.     A  copy  of 
them  was  given  to  each  member  with  an  injunction  of 
profound  secrecy.     One  morning  a  member,  by  acci- 
dent, dropped  his  copy  of  the  propositions.     It  was 
luckily  picked  up  by  General  Mifflm,  and  handed  to 
General  Washington,  who  put  it  in  his  pocket.     After 
the  debates  of  the  day  were  over,  and  the  question  for 
adjournment  was   called  for,  Washington  rose,  and 
previous  to  putting  the  question,  addressed  the  com- 
mittee as  follows  :  "  Gentlemen,  I  am  sorry  to  find  that 
some  one  member  of  this  body  has  been  so  neglectful 
of  the  secrets  of  the  convention,  as  to  drop  in  the  State 
House  a  copy  of  their  proceedings  ;  which,  by  accident, 
was  picked  up  and  delivered  to  me  this  morning.     I 
must  entreat  gentlemen  to  be  more  careful,  lest  our 
transactions  get  into  the  newspapers,  and  disturb  the 
public  repose  by  premature  speculations.     I  know  not 
whose  paper  it  is,  but  there  it  is  (throwing  it  down  on 
the  table) ;  let  him  who  owns  it  take  it."     At  the  same 
time  he  bowed,  took  his  hat,  and  left  the  room  with  a 


496  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1787. 

dignity  so  severe  that  every  person  seemed  alarmed. 
"  For  my  part,  I  was  extremely  so,"  adds  Mr.  Pierce, 
"  for,  putting  my  hand  in  my  pocket,  I  missed  my  copy 
of  the  same  paper ;  but  advancing  to  the  table,  my 
fears  soon  dissipated.  I  found  it  to  be  in  the  hand- 
writing of  another  person." 

Mr.  Pierce  found  his  copy  at  his  lodgings,  in  the 
pocket  of  a  coat  which  he  had  changed  that  morning 
No  person  ever  ventured  to  claim  the  anonymous 
paper. 

We  forbear  to  go  into  the  voluminous  proceedings 
of  this  memorable  convention,  which  occupied  from 
four  to  seven  hours  each  day  for  four  months  ;  and  in 
which  every  point  was  the  subject  of  able  and  scru- 
pulous discussion  by  the  best  talent,  and  noblest  spirits 
of  the  country.  Washington  felt  restrained  by  his 
situation  as  President,  from  taking  a  part  in  the  de- 
bates, but  his  well-known  opinions  influenced  the  whole. 
The  result  was  the  formation  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  which  (with  some  amendments  made  in 
after  years)  still  exists. 

As  the  members  on  the  last  day  of  the  session  were 
signing  the  engrossed  constitution.  Dr.  Pranklin,  look- 
ing towards  the  President's  chair,  at  the  back  of  which 
a  sun  was  painted,  observed  to  those  persons  next  to 
him,  "  I  have  often  and  often,  m  the  course  of  the 
session,  and  the  vicissitudes  of  my  hopes  and  fears  as 
to  its  issue,  looked  at  that  sun  behind  the  President, 
without  being  able  to  tell  whether  it  was  rising  or  set- 
ting ;  at  length  I  have  the  happiness  to  know  it  is  a 
rising  and  not  a  setting  sun."  * 

*  The  Madison  Papers,  iii.  1624. 


1787.]  THE   NEW    CONSTITUTION.  497 

"  The  business  being  closed,"  says  Washington  in 
his  diary  (Sept.  17),  "  the  members  adjourned  to  the  city 
tavern,  dined  together,  and  took  a  cordial  leave  of  each 
other.  After  which  I  returned  to  my  lodgings,  did 
some  business  with,  and  received  the  papers  from,  the 
secretary  of  the  convention,  and  retired  to  meditate  on 
the  momentous  work  which  had  been  executed/' 

"  It  appears  to  me  little  short  of  a  miracle,"  writes 
he  to  Lafayette,  "  that  the  delegates  from  so  many 
States,  different  from  each  other,  as  you  know,  in  their 
manners,  circumstances  and  prejudices,  should  unite  in 
forming  a  system  of  national  government  so  little  liable 
to  well-founded  objections.  Nor  am  1  such  an  enthu- 
siastic, partial,  or  undiscriminating  admirer  of  it,  as  not 
to  perceive  it  is  tinctured  with  some  real,  though  not 
radical  defects.  With  regard  to  the  two  great  points, 
the  pivots  upon  which  the  whole  machine  must  move, 
my  creed  is  simply.  First,  that  the  general  government 
is  not  invested  with  more  powers  than  are  indispensably 
necessary  to  perform  the  functions  of  a  good  govern- 
ment ;  and  consequently,  that  no  objection  ought  to  be 
made  against  the  quantity  of  power  delegated  to  it. 

"  Secondly,  that  these  powers,  as  the  appointment  of 

all  rulers  will  for  ever  arise  from,  and  at  short,  stated 

intervals  recur  to,  the  free  suffrages  of  the  people,  are 

so  distributed  among  the  legislative,  executive,  and 

judicial  branches  into  which  the  general  government  is 

arranged,  that  it  can  never  be  in  danger  of  degenerating 

into  a  monarchy,  an  oligarchy,  an  aristocracy,  or  any 

other  despotic  or  oppressive  form,  so  long  as  there  shall 

remain  any  virtue  in  the  body  of  the  people. 

"  It  will  at  least  be  a  recommendation  to  the  proposed 
VOL.  IV. — 32 


498  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1787 

constitution,  that  it  is  provided  with  more  checks  and 
barriers  against  the  introduction  of  tyranny,  and  those 
of  a  nature  less  liable  to  be  surmounted,  than  any  gov- 
ernment hitherto  instituted  among  mortals. 

"  We  are  not  to  expect  perfection  in  this  world ; 
but  mankind,  in  modem  times,  have  apparently  made 
some  progress  in  the  science  of  government.  Should 
that  which  is  now  offered  to  the  people  of  America,  be 
found  on  experiment  less  perfect  than  it  can  be  made, 
a  constitutional  door  is  left  open  for  its  amelioration." 

The  constitution  thus  formed,  was  forwarded  to 
Congress,  and  thence  transmitted  to  the  State  Legisla- 
tures, each  of  which  submitted  it  to  a  State  convention 
composed  of  delegates  chosen  for  that  express  purpose 
by  the  people.  The  ratification  of  the  instrument  by 
nine  States  was  necessary  to  carry  it  into  effect ;  and 
as  the  several  State  conventions  would  assemble  at 
different  times,  nearly  a  year  must  elapse  before  the 
decisions  of  the  requisite  number  could  be  obtamed. 

During  this  time,  Washington  resumed  his  re- 
tired life  at  Mount  Vernon,  seldom  riding,  as  he  says, 
beyond  the  limits  of  his  own  farms,  but  kept  informed 
by  his  numerous  correspondents,  such  as  James  Mad- 
ison, John  Jay,  and  Generals  Knox,  Lincoln  and  Ann- 
strong,  of  the  progress  of  the  constitution  through  its 
various  ordeals,  and  of  the  strenuous  opposition  which 
it  met  with  in  different  quarters  ;  both  in  debate  and 
through  the  press.  A  diversity  of  opinions  and  inclina- 
tions on  the  subject  had  been  expected  by  him.  "  The 
various  passions  and  motives  by  which  men  are  influ- 
enced," said  he,  "  are  concomitants  of  fallibility,  and 
ingrafted  into  our  nature."    Still  he  never  had  a  doubt 


1788.]  THE   CONSTITUTION    RATIFIED.  499 

that  it  would  ultimately  be  adopted ;  and,  in  fact,  the 
national  decision  in  its  favor  was  more  fully  and  strongly 
pronounced  than  even  he  had  anticipated. 

His  feelings  on  learning  the  result  were  expressed 
with  that  solemn  and  religious  faith  in  the  protection 
of  heaven,  manifested  by  him  in  all  the  trials  and  vicis- 
situdes through  which  his  country  had  passed.  "  We 
may,"  said  he,  "  with  a  kind  of  pious  and  grateful  ex- 
ultation, trace  the  finger  of  Providence  through  those 
dark  and  mysterious  events,  which  first  induced  the 
States  to  appoint  a  general  convention,  and  then  led 
them,  one  after  another,  by  such  steps  as  were  best 
calculated  to  effect  the  object,  into  an  adoption  of  the 
system  recommended  by  the  general  convention ; 
thereby,  in  all  human  probability,  laying  a  lasting 
foundation  for  tranquillity  and  happiness,  when  we  had 
but  too  much  reason  to  fear,  that  confusion  and  misery 
were  coming  rapidly  upon  us."  * 

The  testimonials  of  ratification  having  been  received 
by  Congress  from  a  sufficient  number  of  States,  an  act 
was  passed  by  that  body  on  the  13th  of  September, 
appointing  the  first  Wednesday  in  January,  1789,  for 
the  people  of  the  United  States  to  choose  electors  of  a 
President  according  to  the  constitution,  and  the  first 
Wednesday  in  the  month  of  February  following  for  the 
electors  to  meet  and  make  a  choice.  The  meeting  of 
the  government  was  to  be  on  the  first  Wednesday  in 
March,  and  in  the  City  of  New  York. 

*  Letter  to  Jonathan  Tnunbtdl,  20th  July,  1788. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

WASmNGTON  TALKED  OF  FOB  THE  PBE8IDEN0T — HIS  LETTEBS  ON  THB 
SUBJECT  EXPRESSING  HIS  BELTJOTANOE — ^HIS  ELECTION — HIS  PB0GEES8 
TO  THE  SEAT  OF  GOVEENMENT — HIS  BEOEPTION  AT  NEW  YOEK — THB 
INATJ6UEATI0N. 

The  adoption  of  the  Federal  constitution  was  another 
epoch  in  the  Me  of  Washington.  Before  the  official 
forms  of  an  election  could  be  carried  into  operation  a 
unanimous  sentiment  throughout  the  Union  pronounced 
him  the  nation's  choice  to  fiU  the  presidential  chair. 
He  looked  forward  to  the  possibiHty  of  his  election 
with  characteristic  modesty  and  unfeigned  reluctance ; 
as  his  letters  to  his  confidential  friends  bear  witness. 
"  It  has  no  fascinating  allurements  for  me,"  writes  he 
to  Lafayette.  "  At  my  time  of  hfe  and  under  my  cir- 
cumstances, the  increasing  infirmities  of  nature  and  the 
growing  love  of  retirement  do  not  permit  me  to  enter- 
tain a  wish  beyond  that  of  living  and  dying  an  honest 
man  on  my  own  farm.  Let  those  follow  the  pursuits 
of  ambition  and  fame  who  have  a  keener  reUsh  for 
them,  or  who  may  have  more  years  in  store  for  the 
enjoyment." 

Colonel  Henry  Lee  had  written  to  him  warmly  and 


1788.]  TALKED    OF   FOR   THE   PRESIDENCY.  50*L 

eloquently  on  the  subject.  "  My  anxiety  is  extreme  that 
the  new  government  may  have  an  auspicious  begin- 
nmg.  To  effect  this  and  to  perpetuate  a  nation  formed 
under  your  auspices,  it  is  certain  that  again  you  will 
be  called  forth.  The  same  principles  of  devotion  to 
the  good  of  mankind  which  have  invariably  governed 
your  conduct,  will  no  doubt  continue  to  rule  your 
mind,  however  opposite  their  consequences  may  be  to 
your  repose  and  happiness.  If  the  same  success  should 
attend  your  efforts  on  this  important  occasion  which 
has  distinguished  you  hitherto,  then  to  be  sure  you  will 
have  spent  a  life  which  Providence  rarely,  if  ever,  gave 
to  the  lot  of  one  man.  It  is  my  beHef,  it  is  my 
anxious  hope,  that  this  will  be  the  case." 

"  The  event  to  which  you  allude  may  never  hap- 
pen," replies  Washington.  "  This  consideration  alone 
would  supersede  the  expediency  of  announcing  any 
definitive  and  irrevocable  resolution.  You  are  among 
the  small  number  of  those  who  know  my  invincible 
attachment  to  domestic  life,  and  that  my  sincerest  wish 
is  to  continue  in  the  enjoyment  of  it  solely  until  my 
final  hour.  But  the  world  would  be  neither  so  well 
instructed,  nor  so  candidly  disposed  as  to  believe  me 
uninfluenced  by  sinister  motives,  in  case  any  circum- 
stance should  render  a  deviation  from  the  line  of  con- 
duct I  had  prescribed  to  myself  indispensable. 

"  Should  my  unfeigned  reluctance  to  accept  the  office 
be  overcome  by  a  deference  for  the  reasons  and  opin- 
ions of  my  friends  ;  might  I  not,  after  the  declarations 
I  have  made  (and  heaven  knows  they  were  made  in 
the  sincerity  of  my  heart),  in  the  judgment  of  the 
impartial  world  and  of  posterity,  be  chargeable  with 


502  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [178S 

levity  and  inconsistency,  if  not  with  rashness  and 
ambition?  Nay,  farther,  would  there  not  be  some 
apparent  foundation  for  the  two  former  charges?  Now 
justice  to  myself,  and  tranquillity  of  conscience  requu-e, 
that  I  should  act  a  part,  if  not  above  imputation,  at 
least  capable  of  vindication.  Nor  will  you  conceive 
me  to  be  too  solicitous  for  reputation.  Though  I  prize 
as  I  ought  the  good  opmion  of  my  fellow-citizens,  yet, 
if  I  know  myself,  I  would  not  seek  popularity  at  the 
expense  of  one  social  duty  or  moral  virtue. 

"  While  doing  what  my  conscience  informed  me  was 
right,  as  it  respected  my  God,  my  country  and  myself, 
I  should  despise  all  the  party  clamor  and  unjust  cen- 
sure, which 'must  be  expected  from  some,  whose  per- 
sonal enmity  might  be  occasioned  by  their  hostility  to 
the  government.  I  am  conscious,  that  I  fear  alone  to 
give  any  real  occasion  for  obloquy,  and  that  I  do  not 
dread  to  meet  with  unmerited  reproach.  And  certain 
I  am,  whensoever  I  shall  be  convinced  the  good  of 
my  country  requires  my  reputation  to  be  put  in  risk, 
regard  for  my  own  fame  will  not  come  in  competition 
with  an  object  of  so  much  magnitude. 

"  If  I  declined  the  task,  it  would  Ue  upon  quite 
another  principle.  Notwithstanding  my  advanced  sea- 
son of  life,  my  increasing  fondness  for  agricultural 
amusements,  and  my  growing  love  of  retirement  aug- 
ment and  confirm  my  decided  predilection  for  the  char- 
acter of  a  private  citizen,  yet  it  would  be  no  one  of 
these  motives,  nor  the  hazard  to  which  my  former 
reputation  might  be  exposed,  nor  the  terror  of  encoun- 
tering new  fatigues  and  troubles,  that  would  deter  me 
from  an  acceptance;  but  a  belief,  that  some  other 


1788.]  TALKED    OF   FOR   THE   PRESIDENCY.  503 

person,  who  had  less  pretence  and  less  inclination  to 
be  excused,  could  execute  all  the  duties  full  as  satisfac- 
torily as  myself." 

In  a  letter  to  Colonel  Alexander  Hamilton  he 
writes :  "  In  taking  a  survey  of  the  subject,  in  what- 
ever point  of  light  I  have  been  able  to  place  it,  I  have 
always  felt  a  kind  of  gloom  upon  my  mind,  as  often  as 
I  have  been  taught  to  expect  I  might,  and  perhaps 
must  ere  long,  be  called  upon  to  make  a  decision.  You 
will,  I  am  well  assured,  believe  the  assertion,  though  I 
have  little  expectation  it  would  gain  credit  from  those 
who  are  less  acquainted  with  me,  that,  if  I  should 
receive  the  appointment,  and  if  I  should  be  prevailed 
upon  to  accept  it,  the  acceptance  would  be  attended 
with  more  diffidence  and  reluctance  than  ever  I  experi- 
enced before  m  my  life.  It  would  be,  however,  with  a 
fixed  and  sole  determination  of  lending  whatever  as- 
sistance might  be  in  my  power  to  promote  the  public 
weal,  in  hopes  that,  at  a  convenient  and  early  period, 
my  services  might  be  dispensed  with,  and  that  I  might 
be  permitted  once  more  to  retire,  to  pass  an  unclouded 
evening,  after  the  stormy  day  of  hfe,  in  the  bosom  of 
domestic  tranquillity." 

To  Lafayette  he  declares  that  his  difficulties  in- 
crease and  multiply  as  he  draws  toward  the  period 
when,  according  to  common  belief,  it  will  be  necessary 
for  him  to  give  a  definitive  answer  as  to  the  office  m 
question. 

"  Should  circumstances  render  it  in  a  manner  in- 
evitably necessary  to  be  in  the  affirmative,"  writes  he, 
"  I  shall  assume  the  task  with  the  most  unfeigned 
reluctance,  and  with  a  real  diffidence,  for  which  I  shall 


504  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1788 

probably  receive  no  credit  from  the  world.  If  I  know 
my  own  heart,  nothing  short  of  a  conviction  of  duty 
will  mduce  me  again  to  take  an  active  part,  in  pubUc 
affairs  ;  and  in  that  case,  if  I  can  form  a  plan  for  my 
own  conduct,  my  endeavors  shall  be  unremittingly 
exerted,  even  at  the  hazard  of  former  fame  or  present 
popularity,  to  extricate  my  country  from  the  embarrass- 
ments in  which  it  is  entangled  through  want  of  credit ; 
and  to  establish  a  general  system  of  policy,  which  if 
pursued  will  ensure  permanent  felicity  to  the  common- 
wealth. I  think  I  see  a  path  clear  and  direct  as  a  ray 
of  light,  which  leads  to  the  attainment  of  that  object. 
Nothing  but  harmony,  honesty,  industry  and  frugality 
are  necessary  to  make  us  a  great  and  happy  people. 
Happily  the  present  posture  of  affairs,  and  the  prevail- 
ing disposition  of  my  countrymen,  promise  to  co- 
operate in  establishing  those  four  great  and  essential 
pillars  of  public  felicity." 

The  election  took  place  at  the  appointed  time,  and 
it  was  soon  ascertained  that  Washington  was  chosen 
President  for  the  term  of  four  years  from  the  4th  of 
March.  By  this  time  the  arguments  and  entreaties  of 
his  friends,  and  his  own  convictions  of  public  expe- 
diency, had  determined  him  to  accept ;  and  he  made 
preparations  to  depart  for  the  seat  of  government,  as 
soon  as  he  should  receive  official  notice  of  his  election. 
Among  other  duties,  he  paid  a  visit  to  his  mother  at 
Fredericksburg ;  it  was  a  painful,  because  Ukely  to  be 
a  final  one,  for  she  was  afflicted  with  a  malady  which, 
it  was  evident,  must  soon  terminate  her  life.  Their 
parting  was  affectionate,  but  solemn ;  she  had  always 
been  reserved  and  moderate  in  expressing  herself  in 


1789.]  WASHINGTON    ELECTED    PRESIDENT.  505 

regard  to  the  successes  of  her  son  ;  but  it  must  have 
been  a  serene  satisfaction  at  the  close  of  her  hfe  to  see 
him  elevated  by  his  virtues  to  the  highest  honor  of  his 
country. 

From  a  delay  in  forming  a  quorum  of  Congress  the 
votes  of  the  electoral  college  were  not  counted  until 
early  in  April,  when  they  were  found  to  be  unanimous 
in  favor  of  Washmgton.  "  The  delay,"  said  he  in  a 
letter  to  General  Knox,  "  may  be  compared  to  a 
reprieve  ;  for  in  confidence  I  tell  you  (with  the  world  it 
would  obtain  little  credit),  that  my  movements  to  the 
chair  of  government  will  be  accompanied  by  feelings 
not  unlike  those  of  a  culprit,  who  is  gomg  to  the  place 
of  his  execution ,  so  unwilling  am  I,  in  the  evening 
of  a  life  nearly  consumed  in  public  cares,  to  quit  a 
peaceful  abode  for  an  ocean  of  difficulties,  without  that 
competency  of  pohtical  skiU,  abilities  and  incUnation, 
which  are  necessary  to  manage  the  helm.  I  am  sensi- 
ble that  I  am  embarking  the  voice  of  the  people,  and 
a  good  name  of  my  own,  on  this  voyage ;  but  what 
returns  will  be  made  for  them,  heaven  alone  can 
foretell.  Integrity  and  firmness  are  all  I  can  promise. 
These,  be  the  voyage  long  or  short,  shall  never  forsake 
me,  although  I  may  be  deserted  by  all  men ;  for  of 
the  consolations,  which  are  to  be  derived  from  these, 
under  any  circumstances,  the  world  cannot  deprive  ^e." 

At  length  on  the  14th  of  April  he  received  a  letter 
from  the  president  of  Congress,  duly  notifying  him  of 
his  election ;  and  he  prepared  tp  set  out  immediately 
for  New  York,  the  seat  of  government.  An  entry  in  his 
diary,  dated  the  16th,  says,  "  About  ten  o'clock  I  bade 
adieu  to  Mount  Vernon,  to  private  life,  and  to  domes- 


506  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1789. 

tic  felicity;  and  with  a  mind  oppressed  with  more 
anxious  and  painful  sensations  than  I  have  words  to 
express,  set  out  for  New  York  with  the  best  disposition 
to  render  service  to  my  country  in  obedience  to  its  call, 
but  with  less  hope  of  answering  its  expectations." 

At  the  first  stage  of  his  journey  a  trial  of  his  tender- 
est  feelings  awaited  him  in  a  public  dinner  given  him 
at  Alexandria,  by  his  neighbors  and  personal  friends, 
among  whom  he  had  lived  in  the  constant  interchange 
of  kind  offices,  and  who  were  so  aware  of  the  practical 
beneficence  of  his  private  character.  A  deep  feeling 
of  regret  mingled  with  their  festivity.  The  mayor,  who 
presided,  and  spoke  the  sentiments  of  the  people  of 
Alexandria,  deplored  in  his  departure  the  loss  of  the 
first  and  best  of  their  citizens,  the  ornament  of  the 
aged,  the  model  of  the  young,  the  improver  of  their 
agriculture ;  the  friend  of  their  commerce,  the  protec- 
tor of  their  infant  academy,  the  benefactor  of  their 
poor, — ^but  "  go,"  added  he,  "  and  make  a  grateful  peo- 
ple happy,  who  will  be  doubly  grateful  when  they  con- 
template this  new  sacrifice  for  their  interests." 

Washington  was  too  deeply  affected  for  many 
words  in  reply.  "  Just  after  having  bade  adieu  to  my 
domestic  connections,"  said  he,  "  this  tender  proof  of 
your  friendship  is  but  too  well  calculated  to  awaken 
still  ^further  my  sensibility  and  increase  my  regret  at 
parting  from  the  enjoyments  of  private  life.  All  that 
now  remains  for  me  is  to  commit  myself  and  you  to 
the  care  of  that  beneficent  Being,  who,  on  a  former 
occasion,  happily  brought  us  together  after  a  long  and 
distressing  separation.  Pearhaps  the  same  gracious 
Providence  will  again  indulge  me.     But  words  fail  me. 


1789.]  HIS    PROGRESS   NORTHWARD.  507 

Unutterable  sensations  must,  then,  be  left  to  more 
expressive  silence,  while  from  an  aching  heart  I  bid  all 
my  affectionate  friends  and  kind  neighbors  farewell ! " 

His  progress  to  the  seat  of  government  was  a  con- 
tinual ovation.  The  ringing  of  bells  and  roanng  of 
cannonry  proclaimed  his  course  through  the  country. 
The  old  and  young,  women  and  children,  thronged  the 
highways  to  bless  and  welcome  him.  Deputations  of 
the  most  respectable  inhabitants  from  the  principal 
places  came  forth  to  meet  and  escort  him.  At  Balti- 
more, on  his  arrival  and  departure,  his  carriage  was 
attended  by  a  numerous  cavalcade  of  citizens,  and  he 
was  saluted  by  the  thunder  of  artillery. 

At  the  frontier  of  Pennsylvania  he  was  met  by  his 
former  companion  in  arms,  Mifflin,  now  governor  of 
the  State,  who  with  Judge  Peters  and  a  civil  and  mili- 
tary escort,  was  waiting  to  receive  him.  Washington 
had  hoped  to  be  spared  all  military  parade,  but  found 
it  was  not  to  be  evaded.  At  Chester,  where  he  stopped 
to  breakfast,  there  were  preparations  for  a  public  en- 
trance into  Philadelphia.  Cavalry  had  assembled  from 
the  surrounding  country ;  a  superb  white  horse  was  led 
out  for  Washington  to  mount,  and  a  grand  procession 
set  forward,  with  General  St.  Clair  of  revolutionary  no- 
toriety at  its  head.  It  gathered  numbers  as  it  advanced ; 
passed  under  triumphal  arches  entwined  with  laurel, 
and  entered  Philadelphia  amid  the  shouts  of  the  mul- 
titude. 

A  day  of  public  festivity  succeeded,  ended  by  a 
display  of  fireworks.  Washington's  reply  to  the  con- 
gratulations of  the  mayor  at  a  great  civic  banquet,  spoke 
the  genuine  feelings  of  his  modest  nature,  amid  these 


508  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1789, 

testimonials  of  a  world's  applause.  "  When  I  contem- 
plate the  interposition  of  Providence,  as  it  was  visibly 
manifested  in  guiding  us  through  the  Revolution,  in  pre- 
parmg  us  for  the  reception  of  the  general  government, 
and  in  conciliating  the  good  will  of  the  people  of  Amer- 
ica toward  one  another  after  its  adoption,  I  feel  my- 
self oppressed  and  almost  overwhelmed  with  a  sense  of 
divine  munificence.  I  feel  that  nothing  is  due  to  my 
personal  agency  in  all  those  wonderful  and  complicated 
events,  except  what  can  be  attributed  to  an  honest  zeal 
for  the  good  of  my  country.'* 

We  question  whether  any  of  these  testimonials  of  a 
nation's  gratitude  affected  Washington  more  sensibly 
than  those  he  received  at  Trenton.  It  was  on  a  sunny 
afternoon  when  he  arrived  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware, 
where,  twelve  years  before,  he  had  crossed  in  darkness 
and  storm,  through  clouds  of  snow  and  drifts  of  float- 
ing ice,  on  his  daring  attempt  to  strike  a  blow  at  a 
triumphant  enemy. 

Here  at  present  all  was  peace  and  sunshine,  the 
broad  river  flowed  placidly  along,  and  crowds  awaited 
him  on  the  opposite  bank,  to  hail  him  with  love  and 
transport. 

We  will  not  dwell  on  the  joyous  ceremonials  with 
which  he  was  welcomed,  but  there  was  one  too  pecuhar 
to  be  omitted.  The  reader  may  remember  Washing- 
ton's gloomy  night  on  the  banks  of  the  Assunpink, 
which  flows  through  Trenton ;  the  camp  fires  of  Corn- 
waUis  in  front  of  him ;  the  Delaware  full  of  floating  ice 
in  the  rear ;  and  his  sudden  resolve  on  that  midnight 
retreat  which  turned  the  fortunes  of  the  campaign.  On 
the  bridge  crossing  that  eventful  stream,  the  ladies  of 


1789.]  RECEPTION    AT   NEW   YORK.  509 

Trenton  had  caused  a  triumphal  arch  to  be,  erected. 
It  was  entwined  with  evergreens  and  laurels,  and  bore 
the  inscription,  "  The  defender  of  the  mothers  will  be 
the  protector  of  the  daughters."  At  this  bridge  the 
matrons  of  the  city  were  assembled  to  pay  hun  rever- 
ence, and  as  he  passed  under  the  arch,  a  number  of 
young  girls,  dressed  m  white  and  crowned  with  gar- 
lands, strewed  flowers  before  him,  singing  an  ode  ex- 
pressive of  their  love  and  gratitude.  Never  was  ova- 
tion more  graceful,  touching  and  sincere;  and  Washing- 
ton, tenderly  affected,  declared  that  the  impression  of  it 
on  his  heart  could  never  be  effaced. 

His  whole  progress  through  New  Jersey  must  have 
afforded  a  similar  contrast  to  his  weary  marchings  to 
and  fro,  harassed  by  doubts  and  perplexities,  with  bale 
fires  blazing  on  its  hiUs,  instead  of  festive  illuminations, 
and  when  the  ringing  of  bells  and  booming  of  cannon, 
now  so  joyous,  were  the  signals  of  invasion  and 
maraud. 

In  respect  to  his  reception  at  New  York,  Washing- 
ton had  signified  in  a  letter  to  Governor  CHnton,  that 
none  could  be  so  congenial  to  his  feehngs  as  a  quiet 
entry  devoid  of  ceremony ;  but  his  modest  wishes  were 
not  complied  with.  At  Ehzabethtown  Point,  a  com- 
mittee of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  with  various  civic 
functionaries,  waited  by  appointment  to  receive  him. 
He  embarked  on  board  of  a  splendid  barge,  constructed 
for  the  occasion  <  It  was  manned  by  thirteen  branch 
pilots,  masters  of  vessels,  in  white  uniforms,  and  com- 
manded by  Commodore  Nicholson.  Other  barges  fan- 
cifully decorated  followed,  having  on  board  the  heads 
of  departments  and  other  public  officers,  and  several 


510  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1789. 

distinguislied  citizens.  As  they  passed  through  the 
strait  between  the  Jerseys  and  Staten  Island,  called  the 
Kills,  other  boats  decorated  with  flags  fell  in  their  wake, 
until  the  whole,  forming  a  nautical  procession,  swept 
up  the  broad  and  beautiful  bay  of  New  York,  to  the 
sound  of  instrumental  music.  On  board  of  two  vessels 
were  parties  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  sang  congrat- 
ulatory odes  as  Washington's  barge  approached.  The 
ships  at  anchor  in  the  harbor,  dressed  in  colors,  fired 
salutes  as  it  passed.  One  alone,  the  Galveston,  a  Span- 
*  ish  man-of-war,  displayed  no  signs  of  gratulation  until 
the  barge  of  the  general  was  nearly  abreast ;  when  sud- 
denly as  if  by  magic,  the  yards  were  manned,  the  ship 
burst  forth,  as  it  were,  into  a  full  array  of  flags  and 
signals,  and  thundered  a  salute  of  thirteen  guns. 

He  approached  the  landing-place  of  Murray's 
Wharf  amid  the  ringmg  of  bells,  the  roaring  of  can- 
nonry,  and  the  shouting  of  multitudes  collected  on 
every  pier-head.  On  landing,  he  was  received  by  Gov- 
ernor Clinton.  General  Knox,  too,  who  had  taken  such 
affectionate  leave  of  him  on  his  retirement  from  mil- 
itary life,  was  there  to  welcome  him  in  his  civil  capacity. 
Other  of  his  fellow-soldiers  of  the  Revolution  were  like- 
wise there,  mingled  with  the  civic  dignitaries.  At  this 
juncture,  an  officer  stepped  up  and  requested  Wash- 
ington's orders,  announcing  himself  as  commanding 
his  guard.  Washington  desired  him  to  proceed  accord- 
ing to  the  directions  he  might  have  received  in  the 
present  arrangements,  but  that  for  the  future  the  affec- 
tion of  his  fellow-citizens  was  all  the  guard  he  wanted. 

Carpets  had  been  spread  to  a  carriage  prepared  to 
convey  him  to  his  destined  residence,  but  he  preferred 


1789.]  '  RECEPTION    AT   NEW    YORK.  511 

to  walk.  He  was  attended  by  a  long  civil  and  military 
train.  In  the  streets  through  which  he  passed  the 
houses  were  decorated  with  flags,  silken  banners,  gar- 
lands of  flowers  and  evergreens,  and  bore  his  name  m 
every  form  of  ornament.  The  streets  were  crowded 
with  people,  so  that  it  was  with  difficulty  a  passage 
could  be  made  by  the  city  officers.  Washington  fre- 
quently bowed  to  the  multitude  as  he  passed,  taking 
off"  his  hat  to  the  ladies,  who  thronged  every  window, 
waving  their  handkerchiefs,  throwing  flowers  before  him, 
and  many  of  them  shedding  tears  of  enthusiasm. 

That  day  he  dined  with  his  old  friend  Governor 
Clinton,  who  had  invited  a  numerous  company  of  pub- 
lic functionaries  and  foreign  diplomatists  to  meet  him, 
and  in  the  evening  the  city  was  briUiantly  illuminated. 

Would  the  reader  know  the  effect  upon  Washing- 
ton's mind  of  this  triumphant  entry  into  New  York  ? 
It  was  to  depress  rather  than  to  excite  him.  Modestly 
diffident  of  his  abilities  to  cope  with  the  new  duties  on 
which  he  was  entering,  he  was  overwhelmed  by  what 
he  regarded  as  proofs  of  pubhc  expectation.  Noting 
in  his  diary  the  events  of  the  day,  he  writes: — - 
"  The  display  of  boats  which  attended  and  joined  us 
on  this  occasion,  some  with  vocal  and  some  with  instru- 
mental music  on  board ;  the  decorations  of  the  ships, 
the  roar  of  cannon,  and  the  loud  acclamations  of  the 
people  which  rent  the  skies,  as  I  passed  alon^  the 
wharves,  filled  my  mind  with  sensations  as  painful 
(considering  the  reverse  of  this  scene,  which  may  be 
the  case  after  all  my  labors  to  do  good)  as  they  are 
pleasing." 

The  inauguration  was  delayed  for  several  days  by  a 


512  LIFE    OF   WASHINGTON.  [1789. 

question  which  had  risen  as  to  the  form  or  title  by 
which  the  President  elect  was  to  be  addressed ;  and  this 
had  been  deliberated  in  a  committee  of  both  Houses. 
The  question  had  been  mooted  without  Washington's 
privity,  and  contrary  to  his  desire :  as  he  feared  that 
any  title  might  awaken  the  sensitive  jealousy  of  re- 
publicans, at  a  moment  when  it  was  all  important  to 
conciliate  public  good-will  to  the  new  form  of  govern- 
ment. It  was  a  relief  to  him,  therefore,  when  it  was 
finally  resolved  that  the  address  should  be  simply  "  the 
President  of  the  United  States,"  without  any  addition 
of  title ;  a  judicious  form  which  has  remained  to  the 
present  day. 

The  inauguration  took  place  on  the  30  th  of  April. 
At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  there  were  religious 
services  in  all  the  churches,  and  prayers  put  up  for  the 
blessing  of  heaven  on  the  new  government.  At  twelve 
o'clock  the  city  troops  paraded  before  Washington's 
door,  and  soon  after  the  committees  of  Congress  and 
heads  of  departments  came  in  their  carriages.  At  half- 
past  twelve  the  procession  moved  forward  preceded  by 
the  troops,  next  came  the  committees  and  heads  of  de- 
partments in  their  carriages ;  then  Washington  in  a 
coach  of  state,  his  aide-de-camp.  Colonel  Humphreys, 
^nd  his  secretary,  Mr.  Lear,  in  his  own  carriage.  The 
foreign  ministers  and  a  long  train  of  citizens  brought 
up  the  rear. 

About  two  hundred  yards  before  reaching  the  hall, 
Washington  and  his  suite  aHghted  from  their  carriages, 
and  passed  through  the  troops,  who  were  drawn  up  on 
each  side,  into  the  hall  and  senate-chamber,  where  the 
Vice  President,  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 


1789.]  THE   INAUGURATION.  513 

tives  were  assembled.  The  Vice  President,  John 
Adams,  recently  inaugurated,  advanced  and  conducted 
Washington  to  a  chair  of  state  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
room.  A  solemn  silence  prevailed;  when  the  Vice 
President  rose,  and  informed  him  that  all  things  were 
prepared  for  him  to  take  the  oath  of  office  required  by 
the  constitution. 

The  oath  was  to  be  administered  by  the  Chancellor 
of  the  State  of  New  York  in  a  balcony  in  front  of  the 
senate  chamber,  and  in  full  view  of  an  immense  mul- 
titude occupying  the  street,  the  windows,  and  even  roofs 
of  the  adjacent  houses.  The  balcony  formed  a  kind  of 
open  recess,  with  lofty  columns  supporting  the  roof. 
In  the  centre  was  a  table  with  a  covering  of  crimson 
velvet,  upon  which  lay  a  superbly  bound  Bible  on  a 
crimson  velvet  cushion.  This  was  all  the  paraphernalia 
for  the  august  scene. 

All  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  balcony,  when,  at  the 
appointed  hour,  Washington  made  his  appearance,  ac- 
companied by  various  public  functionaries,  and  mem- 
bers of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives.  He 
was  clad  in  a  full  suit  of  dark-brown  cloth,  of  American 
manufacture,  with  a  steel-hilted  dress  sword,  white  silk 
stockings,  and  silver  shoe-buckles.  His  hair  was  dressed 
and  powdered  m  the  fashion  of  the  day,  and  worn  in  a 
bag  and  sohtaire. 

His  entrance  on  the  balcony  was  hailed  by  univer- 
«al  shouts.  He  was  evidently  moved  by  this  demon- 
stration of  public  affection.  Advancing  to  the  front 
of  the  balcony  he  laid  his  hand  upon  his  heart,  bowed 
several  times,  and  then  retreated  to  an  arm-chair  near 
the  table.  The  populace  appeared  to  understand  that 
VOL.  IV. — 33 


514  LIFE   OP   WASHINGTON.  [1789. 

the  scene  had  overcome  him  j  and  were  hushed  at  once 
into  profound  silence. 

After  a  few  moments  Washington  rose  and  again 
came  forward.  John  Adams,  the  Vice  President,  stood 
on  his  right ;  on  his  left  the  Chancellor  of  the  State, 
Robert  R.  Livingston;  somewhat  in  the  rear  were 
Roger  Sherman,  Alexander  Hamilton,  Generals  Knox, 
St.  Clair,  the  Baron  Steuben  and  others. 

The  chancellor  advanced  to  admmister  the  oath 
prescribed  by  the  constitution,  and  Mr.  Otis,  the 
secretary  of  the  Senate,  held  up  the  Bible  on  its  crim- 
son cushion.  The  oath  was  read  slowly  and  distinctly  j 
Washington  at  the  same  time  laying  his  hand  on  the 
open  Bible.  When  it  was  concluded,  he  repHed  sol- 
emnly, "  I  swear — so  help  me  God !  "  Mr.  Otis 
would  have  raised  the  Bible  to  his  lips,  but  he  bowed 
down  reverently  and  kissed  it. 

The  chancellor  now  stepped  forward,  waved  his 
hand  and  exclaimed,  "  Long  live  George  Washington, 
President  of  the  United  States ! "  At  this  moment  a 
flag  was  displayed  on  the  cupola  of  the  hall ;  on  which 
signal  there  was  a  general  discharge  of  artillery  on  the 
battery.  All  the  bells  in  the  city  rang  out  a  joyful 
peal,  and  the  multitude  rent  the  air  with  acclamations. 

Washington  again  bowed  to  the  people  and  re- 
turned into  the  senate  chamber,  where  he  delivered,  to 
both  Houses  of  Congress,  his  inaugural  address,  char- 
acterized by  his  usual  modesty,  moderation  and  good* 
sense,  but  uttered  with  a  voice  deep,  slightly  tremulous, 
and  so  low  as  to  demand  close  attention  in  the  listen- 
ers. After  this  he  proceeded  with  the  whole  assem- 
blage on  foot  to  St.  Paul's  church,  where  prayers  suited 


1789.]  CONCLUDING   REMARKS.  515 

to  the  occasion  were  read  by  Dr.  Prevost,  Bishop  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  New  York ;  who 
had  been  appointed  by  the  Senate  one  of  the  chaplains 
of  Congress.  So  closed  the  ceremonies  of  the  inaugu- 
ration. 

The  whole  day  was  one  of  sincere  rejoicing,  and  m 
the  evening  there  were  brilliant  illuminations  and  fire- 
works. 

We  have  been  accustomed  to  look  to  Washington's 
private  letters  for  the  sentiments  of  his  heart.  Those 
written  to  several  of  his  friends  immediately  after  his 
inauguration,  show  how  little  he  was  excited  by  his 
official  elevation.  "  I  greatly  fear,"  writes  he,  "  that 
my  countrymen  will  expect  too  much  from  me.  I 
fear,  if  the  issue  of  public  measures  should  not  corres- 
pond with  their  sanguine  expectations,  they  will  turn 
the  extravagant,  and  I  might  almost  say  undue  praises, 
which  they  are  heaping  upon  me  at  this  moment,  into 
equally  extravagant,  though  I  will  fondly  hope  unmerited 
censures." 

Little  was  his  modest  spirit  aware  that  the  praises 
so  dubiously  received  were  but  the  opening  notes  of  a 
theme  that  was  to  increase  from  age  to  age,  to  pervade 
all  lands  and  endure  throughout  all  generations. 


In  the  volumes  here  concluded,  we  have  endeavored 
to  narrate  faithfully  the  career  of  Washington  from  child- 
hood, through  his  early  surveying  expeditions  in  the 
wilderness,  his  diplomatic  mission  to  the  French  posts 
on  the  frontier,  his  campaigns  in  the  French  war,  his 


516  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1789. 

arduous  trials  as  commander-in-chief  throughout  the 
Revolution,  the  noble  simplicity  of  his  life  in  retirement, 
until  we  have  shown  him  elevated  to  the  presidential 
chair,  by  no  effort  of  his  own,  in  a  manner  against  his 
wishes,  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  a  grateful  country. 

The  plan  of  our  work  has  necessarily  carried  us 
widely  into  the  campaigns  of  the  Revolution,  even  where 
Washington  was  not  present  in  person ;  for  his  spirit 
pervaded  and  directed  the  whole,  and  a  general  know- 
ledge of  the  whole  is  necessary  to  appreciate  the  saga- 
city, forecast,  enduring  fortitude,  and  comprehensive 
wisdom  with  which  lie  conducted  it.  He  himself  has 
signified  to  one  who  aspired  to  write  his  biography, 
that  any  memoirs  of  his  life  distinct  and  unconnected 
with  the  history  of  the  war,  would  be  unsatisfactory. 
In  treating  of  the  Revolution,  we  have  endeavored 
to  do  justice  to  what  we  consider  its  most  striking 
characteristic ;  the  greatness  of  the  object  and  the  scan- 
tiness of  the  means.  We  have  endeavored  to  keep  in 
view  the  prevailing  poverty  of  resources,  the  scandalous 
neglects,  the  squalid  miseries  of  all  kinds,  with  which 
its  champions  had  to  contend  in  their  expeditions 
through  trackless  wildernesses,  or  thinly  peopled  re- 
gions ,  beneath  scorching  suns  or  inclement  skies ; 
their  wmtry  marches  to  be  traced  by  bloody  footprints 
on  snow  and  ice ;  their  desolate  wintry  encamp- 
ments, rendered  still  more  desolate  by  nakedness  and 
famine.  It  was  in  the  patience  and  fortitude  with 
which  these  ills  were  sustained  by  a  half-disciplined 
yeomanry,  voluntary  exiles  from  their  homes,  destitute 
of  all  the  "pomp  and  circumstance"  of  war  to  excite 
them,  and  animated  solely  by  their  patriotism,  that  we 


1789.J  CONCLUDING    REMARKS.  517 

read  the  noblest  and  most  affecting  characteristics  of 
that  great  struggle  for  human  rights.  They  do  wrong 
to  its  moral  grandeur,  who  seek  by  common-place  ex- 
aggeration, to  give  a  melo-dramatic  effect  and  false 
glare  to  its  military  operations,  and  to  place  its  greatest 
triumphs  in  the  conflicts  of  the  field.  Lafayette  showed 
a  true  sense  of  the  nature  of  the  struggle,  when  Na- 
poleon, accustomed  to  effect  ambitious  purposes  by 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  troops,  and  tens  of  thousands 
of  slain,  sneered  at  the  scanty  armies  of  the  American 
Revolution  and  its  **  boasted  battles."  "  Sire,"  was  the 
admirable  and  comprehensive  reply,  "  it  was  the 
grandest  of  causes  won  by  skirmishes  of  sentinels  and 
outposts." 

In  regard  to  the  character  and  conduct  of  AVash- 
ington,  we  have  endeavored  to  place  his  deeds  in  the 
clearest  light,  and  left  them  to  speak  for  themselves, 
generally  avoiding  comment  or  eulogium.  We  have 
quoted  his  own  words  and  writings  largely,  to  ex- 
plain his  feelings  and  motives,  and  give  the  true  key  to 
his  policy ;  for  never  did  man  leave  a  more  truthful 
mirror  of  his  heart  and  mind,  and  a  more  thorough  ex- 
ponent  of  his  conduct  than  he  has  left  in  his  copious  cor- 
respondence. There  his  character  is  to  be  found  in  all 
its  majestic  simplicity,  its  massive  grandeur,  and  quiet 
colossal  strength.  He  was  no  hero  of  romance ;  there 
was  nothing  of  romantic  heroism  in  his  nature.  As  a 
waiTior,  he  was  incapable  of  fear,  but  made  no  merit  of 
defying  danger.  He  fought  for  a  cause,  but  not  for 
personal  renown.  Gladly,  when  he  had  won  the  cause, 
he  hung  up  his  sword  never  again  to  take  it  down. 
Glory,  that  blatant  word,  which  haunts  some  military 


518  LIFE   OF   WASHINGTON.  [1789. 

mmds  like  the  bray  of  the  trumpet,  formed  no  part  of 
his  aspirations.  To  act  justly  was  his  instinct,  to  pro- 
mote the  public  weal  his  constant  effort,  to  deserve  the 
"  affections  of  good  men"  his  ambition.  With  such 
qualifications  for  the  pure  exercise  of  sound  judgment 
and  comprehensive  wisdom,  he  ascended  the  presiden- 
tial chair. 

There  for  the  present  we  leave  him.  So  far  our 
work  is  complete,  comprehending  the  whole  mihtary 
life  of  Washington,  and  his  agency  in  public  affairs, 
up  to  the  formation  of  our  constitution.  How  well 
we  have  executed  it,  we  leave  to  the  public  to  de- 
termine; hoping  to  find  it,  as  heretofore,  far  more 
easily  satisfied  with  the  result  of  our  labors  than  we  are 
ourselves.  Should  the  measure  of  health  and  good 
spirits,  with  which  a  kind  Providence  has  blessed  us 
beyond  the  usual  term  of  literary  labor,  be  still  contin- 
ued, we  may  go  on,  and  in  another  volume,  give  the 
presidential  career  and  closing  life  of  Washington. 
In  the  mean  time,  having  found  a  resting-place  in  our 
task,  we  stay  our  hands,  lay  by  our  pen,  and  seek  that 
relaxation  and  repose  which  gathering  years  require. 

Sunni/side,  1857.  W.  I. 


END   OF   VOT..   IV.